Meaning

2 senses

  1. (uncountable, usually)Health, safety, happiness and prosperity; well-being in any respect.

    Wohlergehen, Wohlfahrt

    благосостоя́ниеblagosostojánije, благополу́чиеblagopolúčije, сча́стьеsčástʹje

    благополу́ччяblahopolúččja, добро́бутdobróbut, благоде́нствоblahodénstvo

  2. (US, informal, uncountable, usually)Shortened form of "welfare spending", "welfare payments", or "welfare assistance".

    Sozialhilfe, Wohlfahrt

    социа́льная по́мощьsociálʹnaja pómoščʹ

More definitions
  • governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need
  • something that aids or promotes well-being
  • a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous

Examples

71 sentences

  1. I'll live on welfare.

    Я житиму на соціальну допомогу.

    ruЯ буду жить на социальное пособие.

    deIch werde von Sozialhilfe leben.

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  2. Have you ever been on welfare?

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  3. Tom works at the welfare office.

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  4. Tom lives on welfare.

    ruТом живёт на пособие.

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  5. Tom went on welfare.

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Translations

8 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
health, safety, well-being, happiness and prosperity:
Русский
By meaning 2
health, safety, well-being, happiness and prosperity:
aid, provided by a government, etc.:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
health, safety, well-being, happiness and prosperity:
aid, provided by a government, etc.:

Origin

From Middle English welefare, probably from the Old English phrase wel faran (“to fare wel

From Middle English welefare, probably from the Old English phrase wel faran (“to fare well, get along successfully, prosper”) (cognate with Middle Dutch welvare (“welfare”), Middle Low German wolvare (“welfare”), Middle High German wolvar, wolfar (“welfare”)). Equivalent to well + fare. Compare also West Frisian wolfeart, Dutch welvaart, German Wohlfahrt, Old Norse velferð (whence Swedish välfärd (“welfare”)). The first recorded use in the sense of "social concern for the well-being of children, the unemployed, etc." is from 1904 and in the sense of "organized effort to provide for maintenance of members of a group" from 1918.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: welfares
Singularwelfare

uncountable

Synonyms

11 synonyms
welfare assistanceincome supportpublic assistancesocial security
Close in meaning

Word family

27 related words
Derivedanimal welfareantiwelfarecorporate welfarelearnfarepostwelfareprewelfareshrimp welfaresocial welfarewealthfarewelfare bumwelfare capitalismwelfare checkwelfare economicswelfare hotelwelfare magnetwelfare motherwelfare parasitewelfare princesswelfare queenwelfare ratwelfare statewelfare-to-workwelfare trapwelfariat

Lessons for this word

1 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
welcomeB1weldwelderwellA1
welfare — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto