Wealth – not in use currently
Merriam-Webster lists 3 current use definitions for ‘wealth’:
- abundance of valuable material possessions or resources
- abundant supply : PROFUSION
- –
- a) all property that has a money value or an exchangeable value
- b) all material objects that have economic utility
- especially : the stock of useful goods having economic value in existence at any one time
If find having a single word for ‘material possessions or resources’, extremely helpful so this use of the term ‘wealth’ is my preference.
To avoid confusion, anytime I am referring to ‘an abundance of ‘wealth’, I use the term ‘wealthy‘.
Yes, the Wikipedia page on ‘wealth’ starts by stating wealth is ‘the abundance of valuable resources or valuable material possessions’, but then includes a graph of the entire world showing the ‘wealth’ of every country, clearly using the term as I do, since many countries can hardly be described as having ‘an abundance‘ of what they are describing, yet on the graph, every country has some degree of ‘wealth’.
The Wikipedia page does also state further down:
At the most general level, economists may define wealth as “anything of value” that captures both the subjective nature of the idea and the idea that it is not a fixed or static concept.
Wikipedia.
Whilst I worry about agreeing with economists, I find this a more useful definition.