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filthy lucre. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
filthy lucre, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
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English
Etymology
From filthy + lucre, which appears in the Tyndale Bible, and four times in the King James Version of the Bible, as a calque of Ancient Greek αἰσχρόν κέρδος (aiskhrón kérdos) and related terms such as αἰσχροκερδής (aiskhrokerdḗs, “ given to filthy lucre”):[1][2] see the quotations and Citations:filthy lucre.
Pronunciation
Noun
filthy lucre (uncountable)
- (idiomatic, derogatory, often humorous in modern use) Money, especially if obtained dishonestly.
- (money obtained dishonestly): Synonyms: dirty money, lucre
1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 1 Timothy 3:2–3:A Biſhop then muſt be blameleſſe, […] Not giuen to wine, no ſtriker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not couetous; […]
1855 January 5, Anthony Trollope, “Iphigenia”, in The Warden, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 175:Both her auditors, brother and sister, assented to this, and declared on their own knowledge that no man lived less addicted to filthy lucre than the warden.
1900, “The Seventh Ecumenical Council. The Second Council of Nice, a.d. 787. ”, in Henry R[obert] Percival (volume), Philip Schaff, Henry Wace (series), editors, The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church. (A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series; XIV), New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons; Oxford, Oxfordshire; London: Parker & Company, →OCLC, page 567:The abomination of filthy lucre has made such inroads among the rulers of the churches, that certain of those who call themselves religious men and women, forgetting the commandments of the Lord have been altogether led astray, and for the sake of money have received those presenting themselves for the sacerdotal order and the monastic life.
2022 November 2, Daniela Elser, “King Charles could strip Harry of Duke title after his memoir, Spare, is released”, in Shayne Currie, editor, The New Zealand Herald, Auckland: New Zealand Media and Entertainment, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-15:The reason why, like pretty much everything these days connected with the current Duke [Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex] and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, comes down to their various money-making gambits. (With a reported $68,000-a-month mortgage to pay and a hen house full of chooks to keep in gluten-free grain, these days the couple need filthy lucre the exact same way that you and I do.)
Derived terms
Translations
money, especially if obtained dishonestly
— see lucre
See also
References
- ^ Compare “filthy lucre, n.” under “filthy, adj., n., and adv.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
- ^ “filthy lucre, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.
Further reading