Meanings
riches1
- pluralplural onlyMoney, goods, wealth, treasure.
1 more example
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 dreame againe.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12
riches2
- nonstandardpluralplural onlyrareRich people.
They live in the forest, steal from the riches and help the poors.
2020, Derya Öztürk, chapter 9, in Robin Hood (Stage-1), İstanbul: Maviçatı Yayınları, →ISBN5 more examples
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.”
1929 March, A. C. Amy, “‘Well, when I was at the War——’”, in William H[eaton] Horrocks, C. J. Coppinger, editors, Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, volume LII, number 3, London: John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, Ltd. […], page 189In Antiquity has also existed social conflicts between the poor men and the riches.
2012, Constantin Portelli, “The Italian Fascism”, in The Big Transition, Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books, →ISBN[…] South America used to be a heaven for the riches and the hell for the poors and it's true.
2015, Jings Chen, chapter 18, in South Texas Never Raided, Partridge Publishing Singapore, →ISBNShe slips her rosary out of her purse, works her fingers over the beads, and continues chanting her list of deads. It’s one of her many lists. And one of her many quirks. She’s list obsessed. The deads, the gays, the riches, the poors, the outs, the down-and-outs. […] And, after my sister, Opal committed suicide, she dipped deeper into the buggy pot. […] After Dad passed, our long-distance phone conversations took on all kinds of new eccentricities. […] The deads were not going to be disregarded, according to Mom.
2016, A. Wilding Wells, “Snowvale”, in Sunshine Bleeds a Black Edge (The Wild Things; 3), Hyp Notic Press, →ISBNThe riches have money not happiness / The poors are happy but penniless
2021, Manya Srivastava, “Don't Judge a Book by It's^([sic]) Cover”, in Alfesha Zeeshan, Saher Beig, compilers, Musing, Rourkela, Odisha: Unvoiced Heart; Spectrum of Thoughts, →ISBN, page 77
Riches3
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
riches · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-“to straighten, direct, make right”
- Proto-Germanic*rīkijaz“rich, powerful”
- Frankish*rīki“rich”
- Germanic
- Old Frenchrichesse
- Old Englishrīċe“power, authority, dominion”
- Middle Englishriches
- Englishriches
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →riches · noun
From rich + -es (plural suffix) by analogy with poors (“poor people”).
Full word history & related roots →Riches · proper noun
From Rich, a diminutive of Richard + the patronymic suffix -s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali জর
- জর (zôr)money, goods, wealth, treasure
Bulgarian съкровище, богатство
- съкровище (săkrovište)money, goods, wealth, treasure
- богатство (bogatstvo)money, goods, wealth, treasure
Finnish rikkaudet
- rikkaudetmoney, goods, wealth, treasure
German Reichtümer
- Reichtümermoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Hungarian gazdagság, vagyon
- gazdagságmoney, goods, wealth, treasure
- vagyonmoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Irish saibhreas
- saibhreasmoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Latin dītiae, dīvitiae
- dītiaemoney, goods, wealth, treasure
- dīvitiaemoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Latvian bagātība
- bagātībamoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Polish bogactwo, bogactwa
- bogactwomoney, goods, wealth, treasure
- bogactwamoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Russian бога́тство
- бога́тство (bogátstvo)money, goods, wealth, treasure
Scottish Gaelic ionmhas
- ionmhasmoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Spanish riqueza
- riquezamoney, goods, wealth, treasure
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with riches
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
riches. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riches
“riches.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riches. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “riches,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riches.
Source: riches on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.