wealthy
Meaning
having a large amount of money, possessions, or resources; rich.
(of a place, society, or period) producing or characterized by an abundance of something desirable.
Structure
Usage
she comes from a wealthy family with a long history in banking.
the wealthy nations pledged to increase their aid to developing countries.
the region is wealthy in natural resources like oil and minerals.
Etymology
The word 'wealthy' is a native English formation. Its core, 'wealth', originates from the Old English word 'wela', meaning 'well-being' or 'prosperity', combined with the abstract noun-forming suffix '-th', akin to '-th' in 'health'. This Old English 'wela' itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic root welon-, related to the concept of 'well' or 'good'. The adjective-forming suffix '-y', of Old English origin, was added to 'wealth' to create 'wealthy', literally meaning "characterized by wealth or well-being." The semantic journey thus moved from a general state of well-being to the specific modern sense of possessing abundant material riches.
Analysis
wealth (from middle english welthe, from old english wel + the abstract noun suffix -th, of germanic origin). y (a native english suffix forming adjectives from nouns, meaning "characterized by; full of").