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riches

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riches¹

  • /ɹɪt͡ʃɪz/

Rhymes with -ɪtʃɪz

Where it comes from

From Middle English riches, plural of riche (“power, wealth”), from Old English rīċe (“power, authority, dominion”). Confused with Middle English richesse (“wealth”), from Old French richesse, from riche (“rich, wealthy”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *rīki (“rich”) from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“rich, powerful”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct, make right”). Akin to Old High German rīhhi (“rich”) (German reich (“rich”)), Old English rīċe (“rich”), Old English racu (“explanation, reasoning”). More at rich.

noun

  1. plural, plural only Money, goods, wealth, treasure. Cal.[…]Sometimes a thouſand twangling Inſtruments Will hum about mine eares ; and ſometime voices, That if I then had wak'd after long ſleepe, Will make me ſleepe againe, and then in dreaming, The clouds methought would open, and ſhew riches Ready to drop vpon me, that when I wak'd I cri'de to
  2. figuratively, plural, plural only An abundance of anything desirable. You will enjoy the riches of this forest.

riches²

  • /ɹɪt͡ʃɪz/

Rhymes with -ɪtʃɪz

Where it comes from

From rich + -es (plural suffix) by analogy with poors (“poor people”).

noun

  1. nonstandard, plural, plural only, rare Rich people. Mr. Chander Lall Mookerji wrote to me thus: “The youngs and the olds, the highs and the lows, the riches and the poors, all join together in praising Your Honour’s magnanimity.”

    Similar: wealthies · Opposite: poors

Riches³

Where it comes from

From Rich, a diminutive of Richard + the patronymic suffix -s.

proper noun

  1. A surname originating as a patronymic.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: wealth, wealthy, enrichment, bounty, pelf, megabucks, heritage, spoils, assets, bounties, endowments, fortunes, resources, treasures, wealths, abundance

Translations

Every language

noun money, goods, wealth, treasure

Españolriqueza
DeutschReichtümer
Русскийбога́тство bogátstvo

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MLA

"riches." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/riches. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

riches. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/riches

Chicago

"riches." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/riches.

BibTeX
@misc{riches_2026,
  title = {riches},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/riches},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}