Richesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Abundant possessions or valuable resources owned by someone; great wealth or material prosperity; the state of having numerous assets or financial abundance
2. A large collection of valuable items or financial resources; significant accumulation of money or property; the condition of being affluent or well-endowed financially
3. The possession of substantial financial means or valuable goods; considerable treasure or affluence; having extensive material riches or plentiful economic resources

Etymology: "Richesses" is simply the plural of "richesse," so its history is that of the singular noun. The singular came into Middle English from Old French "richese" (or "richece"), and the French word is itself a derivative of "riche," meaning rich. The plural form appears in English when writers want to refer to several kinds or instances of wealth, such as the scattered treasures of a court or the varied goods of a merchant. The deeper story lies in the French root. "Riche" traces back to a Frankish word for a powerful ruler, a sense that made wealth and power close companions from the start, a link still visible in the way "rich" once carried connotations of authority. "Richesse" took the suffix "-esse," which French used to form abstract nouns of quality from adjectives, so the word literally names the state or condition of being rich.

Synonyms: wealth, riches, assets, fortune, resources

Antonyms: poverty, impoverishment, destitution, penury, need