noun · irregular · countable / uncountable · rare

pelf

pelf · pelfs

Money, riches; gain, especially when dishonestly acquired; lucre, mammonMoney, riches; gain, especially when dishonestly acquired; lucre, mammon.

/pɛlf/

Meaning

4 senses

(dated, derogatory, uncountable)Money, riches; gain, especially when dishonestly acquired; lucre, mammon.
(dated, uncountable)Rubbish, trash; specifically (UK, dialectal) refuse from plants.
(uncountable)Dust; fluff.
(Yorkshire, countable, derogatory)A contemptible or useless person.

More definitions

informal terms for money

Origin

From Late Middle English pelf, pelfe (“stolen goods, booty, spoil; forfeited property; mon

From Late Middle English pelf, pelfe (“stolen goods, booty, spoil; forfeited property; money, riches; property; valuable object”), possibly from Anglo-Norman pelf (a variant of pelfre (“booty, loot”)) and Old French peufre (“frippery; rubbish”); further etymology uncertain, possibly a metathesis of Old French felpe, ferpe, frepe (“a rag”). The English word is perhaps related to Late Latin pelfa, pelfra, pelfrum (“forfeited or stolen goods”), Middle French peuffe and French peufe, peuffe (“old clothes; rubbish”) (Normandy), and pilfer.

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