lucre


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lu·cre

 (lo͞o′kər)
n.
Money or profits.

[Middle English, from Latin lucrum; see lau- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: In the 1520s, William Tyndale made an influential translation of the New Testament from Greek into English. Many of Tyndale's English renderings of Greek phrases were considered so apt that the translators of the King James Version of the Bible reused them eighty years later, thus ensuring their familiarity to speakers of Modern English. Among the familiar phrases that Tyndale apparently coined in his translation are the powers that be (Romans 13:1) and filthy lucre (Titus 1:7,11). This last expression occurs as part of the translation of Greek phrases like aiskhrou kerdous kharin "for the sake (kharin) of shameful (aiskhrou) gain (kerdous)." When translating these words, Tyndale was probably guided by the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments that had been the standard edition of the Bible in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In the Vulgate, the passage was rendered with the Latin words turpis lucrī grātiā, "for the sake (grātiā) of shameful (turpis) gain (lucrī)." It was only natural that Tyndale, working in the early Reformation, would remember the wording of the familiar Latin translation. As a result, he rendered the phrase as because of filthy lucre, using the English word lucre, which comes from Latin lucrum, "material gain, profit,"—the same Latin word that appears in the form lucrī in the Vulgate. But we cannot attribute the modern pejorative connotations of lucre wholly to Tyndale's influence. In Latin itself, lucrum could be used to mean "avarice." When the Latin word was borrowed into Middle English as lucre, it was often used in the simple neutral sense "material gain, profit." Already in the 1300s, however, lucre began to appear in contexts favoring the development of pejorative overtones, such as in Chaucer's phrase from the Prioress's Tale: foule usure and lucre of vileynye ("foul usury and lucre of villainy").
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lucre

(ˈluːkə)
n
(Banking & Finance) usually facetious money or wealth (esp in the phrase filthy lucre)
[C14: from Latin lūcrum gain; related to Old English lēan reward, German Lohn wages]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lu•cre

(ˈlu kər)

n.
monetary reward or gain; money.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lucrum profit; akin to Old English lēan reward, Old Saxon, Old High German lōn, Old Norse, Gothic laun]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.lucre - informal terms for moneylucre - informal terms for money    
money - the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender; "we tried to collect the money he owed us"
2.lucre - the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)lucre - the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
income - the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
earning per share - the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock
windfall profit - profit that occurs unexpectedly as a consequence of some event not controlled by those who profit from it
cleanup, killing - a very large profit
fast buck, quick buck - quick or easy earnings, "they are traders out to make a fast buck"
filthy lucre - shameful profit; "he would sell his soul for filthy lucre"
gross profit, gross profit margin, margin - (finance) the net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold
share, percentage, portion, part - assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group; "he wanted his share in cash"
markup - the amount added to the cost to determine the asking price
accumulation - (finance) profits that are not paid out as dividends but are added to the capital base of the corporation
dividend - that part of the earnings of a corporation that is distributed to its shareholders; usually paid quarterly
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

lucre

noun (Usually facetious) money, profit, gain, riches, wealth, spoils, mammon, pelf Now they can feel less guilty about their piles of filthy lucre.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

lucre

noun
Something, such as coins or printed bills, used as a medium of exchange:
Informal: wampum.
Chiefly British: brass.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

lucre

[ˈluːkəʳ] N (= profit) → lucro m
filthy lucre (hum) → el vil metal
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lucre

n filthy lucreschnöder Mammon
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lucre

[ˈluːkəʳ] n (old) → lucro
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The causes of superstition are: pleasing and sensual rites and ceremonies; excess of outward and pharisaical holiness; overgreat reverence of traditions, which cannot but load the church; the stratagems of prelates, for their own ambition and lucre; the favoring too much of good intentions, which openeth the gate to conceits and novelties; the taking an aim at divine matters, by human, which cannot but breed mixture of imaginations: and, lastly, barbarous times, especially joined with calamities and disasters.
So much for Norman blood unaided by Victorian lucre.
She was in pursuit of fame, not filthy lucre, and her literary dreams were as yet untainted by mercenary considerations.
Then she tried a child's story, which she could easily have disposed of if she had not been mercenary enough to demand filthy lucre for it.
Sometimes, moreover, he made personal application to individuals, holding out his small black palm, and otherwise plainly signifying his excessive desire for whatever filthy lucre might happen to be in anybody's pocket.
``Good Jew good beast good earthworm!'' said the yeoman, losing patience; ``an thou dost go on to put thy filthy lucre in the balance with thy daughter's life and honour, by Heaven, I will strip thee of every maravedi thou hast in the world, before three days are out!''
'And now,' said Macfarlane, 'it's only fair that you should pocket the lucre. I've had my share already.
We are holden to men by every sort of tie, by blood, by pride, by fear, by hope, by lucre, by lust, by hate, by admiration, by every circumstance and badge and trifle, --but we can scarce believe that so much character can subsist in another as to draw us by love.
In the calm with which you learnt you had become suddenly rich, I read a mind clear of the vice of Demas:- lucre had no undue power over you.
Thus they win Great numbers of each Nation to receave With joy the tidings brought from Heav'n: at length Thir Ministry perform'd, and race well run, Thir doctrine and thir story written left, They die; but in thir room, as they forewarne, Wolves shall succeed for teachers, grievous Wolves, Who all the sacred mysteries of Heav'n To thir own vile advantages shall turne Of lucre and ambition, and the truth With superstitions and traditions taint, Left onely in those written Records pure, Though not but by the Spirit understood.
Despite the lure of filthy lucre I declined to download the attachment although I have checked my bank account: so far there has been no deposit of Arab Emirate Dirham.
You can play good, bad or indifferent, just do not get relegated because you will lose all of that filthy lucre.