bonanza
Plural: bonanzas
Noun
- A situation or event that creates a sudden increase in wealth or luck.
- an especially rich vein of precious ore
- a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money)
- A rich mine or vein of silver or gold.
- The point at which two mother lodes intersect.
- Anything which is a great source of wealth or yields a large income or return.
Examples
- Drawing all the high-value letters was a bonanza, setting her up for a huge score.
- The popular show quickly became a ratings bonanza for the network.
Origin / Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der.
Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκός (mălăkós)
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκῐ́ᾱ (mălăkĭ́ā)bor.
Latin malacia
Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?
Proto-Italic *dwenos
Old Latin duenos
Old Latin duonus
Latin bonusinflu.
Vulgar Latin *bonacia
Spanish bonanzabor.
English bonanza
Borrowed from Spanish bonanza (“dead calm, fair weather, good luck, rich lode”), from Vulgar Latin *bonacia (“lull, dead calm”), in turn from Latin malacia (“calm sea”), influenced by bonus (“good”) under the false impression that initial mal- is a derivate of malus (“bad”).
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 18
bonanza: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbonanza: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bonanza: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary