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pelf

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Money, riches, or wealth, especially when regarded as base, ill-gotten, or sordidly acquired; emphasizes the disreputable or morally tainted nature of material gain.

Detailed Definition
“Pelf” conveys contempt for material gain. In satirical poetry, it labels corrupting wealth. The term’s harshness mirrors moral disgust. Poets use it to critique avarice, where pelf replaces virtue, reinforcing themes of integrity, poverty, and spiritual poverty in didactic and political verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
“He chased pelf, and lost his soul,” in a moral allegory; In satirical verse: “Pelf and power poison the heart”; “The miser’s pelf rotted in chests”; “She valued love above pelf”; “Pelf buys comfort, not peace”; The court swarmed with seekers of pelf.
Additional Notes
“Pelf” carries moral disdain for wealth; in Puritan or reformist poetry, it labels money as corrupting (“filthy pelf”), distinguishing honest labor from greed-driven accumulation in ethical economies.
Also Known As
wealth riches lucre
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