Bonanza (noun)
bon-an-za
a source of great and sudden wealth or luck; a spectacular windfall.
Bonanza is an Americanism that was first recorded in 1835–45 and comes from Spanish and literally means, “smooth sea.” Bonanza is a nasalized variant of the Medieval Latin word bonacia, made up of the Latin words bon(us), meaning “good,” and (mal)acia, meaning “calm sea,” which came from the Greek word malakía, “softness.”
Example sentences
“Finding that chest in the attic full of antiques was a bonanza for our family.”
Mackle (verb) mak-ul to blur, as from a double impression in printing First used in 1585–95. A variant of earlier macle, makle; earlier macule (from the Latin macula, “spot, blemish”).…
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