Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Generously supplied with money, property, or possessions; prosperous or rich. synonym: rich.
  • adjective Manifesting or requiring wealth.
  • adjective Archaic Flowing freely; copious.
  • noun A stream or river that flows into a larger one; a tributary.
  • noun A person who is well-off financially.
  • noun Wealthy people considered as a group. Often used with the.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Flowing to: as, “affluent blood,” Harvey, Consumption.
  • Abundant; copious; abounding in anything, as attributes, attainments, or possessions; hence, specifically, abounding in means; rich: as, a man of affluent intellect; an affluent man or community; affluent circumstances.
  • noun A tributary stream; a stream or river flowing into another, or into a lake, bay, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Flowing to; flowing abundantly.
  • adjective Abundant; copious; plenteous; hence, wealthy; abounding in goods or riches.
  • noun A stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a lake; a tributary stream.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun this sense) Somebody who is wealthy.
  • noun A stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a lake; a tributary stream; a tributary.
  • adjective Abundant; copious; plenteous.
  • adjective by extension Abounding in goods or riches; materially wealthy.
  • adjective dated tributary

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an affluent person; a person who is financially well off
  • noun a branch that flows into the main stream
  • adjective having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, abundant, flowing, from Old French, from Latin affluēns, affluent-, present participle of affluere, to abound in : ad-, ad- + fluere, to flow; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle French affluent, from Latin affluentem, accusative singular of affluēns, present active participle of affluō ("flow to or towards; overflow with"), from ad ("to, towards") + fluō ("flow") (cognate via latter to fluid, flow). Sense of “wealthy” (plentiful flow of goods) c. 1600, which also lead to nominalization affluence.

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