English Explanatory Dictionary

lucre

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Money, riches, or wealth, especially when seen as having a corrupting effect or causing greed, or obtained in an underhanded manner.

Pronunciation

/ˈluːkə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lucre.wav /ˈljuːkə/ /ˈluːkɚ/ /ˈlʉkəɾ/ /ˈlʉkəɹ/

Word forms

lucre

Etymology

From Middle English lūcre, lucor, lucour, lucur (“gain in money, profit; money; wages; illicit gain; advantage, benefit”), from Old French lucre or Latin lucrum (“advantage, profit; love of gain, avarice”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂w- (“gain, profit”) + *-tlom (variant of *-trom (suffix forming nouns denoting tools or instruments)).

Synonyms

mammon

Related words

lucrative lucratively lucrativeness Lucretia Lucretius lucriferous lucrific

Derived words

filthy lucre
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