Welfares

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The system of services and benefits designed to promote the well-being of individuals and communities
2. Financial assistance and support programs aimed at improving the quality of life for those in need
3. A collective effort by governmental or non-governmental organizations to ensure basic health, education, and social security for citizens

Etymology: "Welfares" is simply the plural of "welfare," used when people speak of several distinct support programs at once. The noun itself is built from "well" and "fare," and its roots go back to an Old English phrase, "wel faran," meaning "to fare well" or "to prosper." Early English speakers were describing a person's general condition, getting along successfully in life, long before the word meant anything governmental. The shift toward its modern sense came late. Middle English took the word from that phrase, and its cousins in Dutch, German and the Scandinavian languages carry the same idea of prosperity. The sense of "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is first recorded only in 1904, and the sense of an organized effort to provide for the maintenance of a group's members dates from 1918, which is when the plural forms like "welfares" became natural for describing separate schemes.

Synonyms: social benefits, assistance

Antonyms: poverty, neglect