| 释义 |
▪ I. welfare, n.|ˈwɛlfɛə(r)|
Forms: α. 4– welfare, (4 wilfare), 4–8 wellfare (5 wellefare); 5 welfar, whelfar; 7 welfaire, wellfair. β. 4–5 welefar(e, (4 weylfare, 6 -far), 5 weelfare, Sc. weillfair, weilfar(e, weill-, weyllfar, -fayr, 5–6 Sc. weil-, welefair, (6 veilfair, -fayr(e, -fare).
[f. the verbal phrase wel fare (see fare v.1 7), the verb being replaced by the noun (fare n.1). Cf. ON. velferð (Sw. välfärd, Da. velfærd) welfare, velfǫr parting, leave-taking.]
1. a. The state or condition of doing or being well; good fortune, happiness, or well-being (of a person, community, or thing); thriving or successful progress in life, prosperity.
α1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3928 Ȝyf þou euer haddyst sorow oþer kare Of þy neghëburs welfare. c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche (Fairf.) 582 My lyfe, my lustes, be me loothe, For al welfare and I be wroothe. 1390Gower Conf. II. 116 So overcast is my welfare, That I am schapen al to strif. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 9235 Thow art boundë to deuyse Hys goostly [h]elthë & wel-ffare. 1466Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 77 Desyryng to here of yower wellefare and prosperyte of body and sawle. 1540Palsgr. Acolastus i. i. D j b, I..had myne eye contynually vpon his welfare, I ouerpassed nothynge that myght profyt him. 1559J. Aylmer Harborowe D 4 b, Whereupon dependeth either the welfare or ilfare of the whole realm. 1574Mirr. Mag., Elstride xxvii, [Thou] Didst liue a life deuoyde of all welfare. 1623J. Taylor (Water P.) Discov. by Sea C 3 b, Your laudable endeuours for your welfare and commodity. 1684J. S. Profit & Pleas. United 139 Above all let the King or Master Bee be Long, Shining, and Chearfull,..for upon his Success depends the wellfair of the whole Swarm. 1718Free-thinker No. 65. 71 It was one continued Series of Actions, for the Welfare of the People. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 186 Their welfare pleas'd him, and their cares distress'd. 1838Lytton Alice i. iii, Her first wish in life is for your happiness and welfare. 1847Tennyson Princess iii. 264 They know not, cannot guess How much their welfare is a passion to us. 1892Weekly Reporter 17 Dec. 97/1 The welfare of the child—religious, moral, and social, as well as physical and pecuniary—is the paramount consideration for the court.
β1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1715 Ȝyf þou fordost þe weylfare Betwyx þo þat weddyde are. 1357Lay Folks Catech. 434 That our hert be noght to hegh for no welefare, Ne ouer mikel undir for nane yvel fare. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 1354 Ful glad was sir Gawayne, Of the welefar of Sir Ywayne. c1440Lydg. Hors, Shepe & G. 495 Where pees restith, ther is al weelfare. c1470Henry Wallace v. 524 Spek I will off Wallace glaid weillfar. 1521G. Douglas in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 293 Concernyng ye weylfar and surte of his derrest nevo the Kyng. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xiii. 224 Pray..[that] Hir grace lang space may in gude weilfair stand. 1785Burns Cotter's Sat. Nt. v, Brothers and sisters meet, And each for other's weelfare kindly spiers.
†b. As the name of a ship. Obs.
1310Rot. Scotiæ 90/1 Will's le Fisshere de Gravesiende mag'r navis que vocatur la Welefare de Westm'.
†2. A source of well-being or happiness; pl. the good things of life. Obs.
c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 1040 For certes she was..My worldes welfare and my goddesse. c1374― Troylus iv. 228 Lyth Troylus byraft of eche welfare I-bounde in þe blake bark of care. c1440Alphabet of Tales 450 Som tyme þer was a knyght þat lefte all his possessions & his wurshuppis and his welefaris, and made hym a monk.
†3.
a. Good cheer, good living or entertainment.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxix. (Placidas) 602, & ȝet þane til ane Inis haf þaim he can, & gert mak þaim welfare of al thing þat was necessare. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 350 To wasten, on welfare and on wykked kepynge, Al þe worlde in a while þorw owre witte. c1440Jacob's Well 286 Þe iiij. nyȝt, þei weryn herberwyd at an-oþer good mannys hows, & haddyn gret wel-fare. a1470H. Parker Dives & Pauper (W. de W. 1496) iv. ii. 162/1 Whan that yonge folke wexe rebelle ayenst fader & moder & gyue them to suche ryot & welfare & ydlenesse. 1528Roy Rede me (Arb.) 45 Both in welfare and wede, With oute doute they farre excede The nobles of the region. 1577W. Harrison Descr. Scot. i. 2/1 in Holinshed, Those that are giuen much vnto wine and such welfare.
†b. Abundance (of meat, drink). Obs.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 61 Þei..han lordschipis, rentis, gaie houses & costy, & welfare of mete & drynk. a1395Hylton Scala Perf. i. lxxii. (W. de W. 1494), He that..delytes in welfare of mete or drynke.
4. a. The maintenance of members of a group or community in a state of (esp. physical and economic) well-being, esp. as provided for and organized by legislation or social effort. See also sense 5.
1918[see rest room s.v. rest n.1 14 a]. 1965A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914–45 iv. 121 Free treatment of venereal disease was the sole innovation in ‘welfare’ directly attributable to the first World War. 1968M. Pyke Food & Society v. 66 And a Western community converted to the principles of welfare will supply vitamins and much else without requiring profit. 1977M. French Women's Room (1978) ii. 139 Welfare..was starting to be a big thing. A lot of Puerto Ricans coming up to New York to get a free handout.
b. ellipt. (Usu. with capital initial.) A welfare centre or office; (the officials of) a welfare department.
1928[see pally]. 1960D. Lessing In Pursuit of English iv. 135 Once she asked Welfare if Aurora could go to a council nursery. 1972J. Mann Mrs. Knox's Profession vii. 57 That poor mite... The mother didn't ought to leave it like that... They ought to get the welfare to that woman. 1984Observer (Colour Suppl.) 18 Mar. 6/2 First I rang the Welfare to make sure they would get me a flat.
c. = welfare benefit, sense 5 below. Esp. in phr. on (the) welfare. orig. U.S.
1946[see snag v.2 4]. 1964S. M. Miller in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 295 Women on welfare strongly demonstrated against the cessation of allowances. 1970Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 1/1 People receiving welfare in Metro broke all previous records. 1974K. Millett Flying (1975) ii. 141 Half the people I know feed on welfare. 1976F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society ii. v. 111 If a man with four children on supplementary benefits would only be better off working if he could earn about {pstlg}75 a week, it would..need a very conscientious man, keen on his work, to resist the temptation to stay on welfare.
5. Comb. In recent use with sense of ‘relating to or concerned with the welfare of’ (workers, children, etc.) as welfare centre, welfare clinic, welfare committee, welfare department, welfare office, welfare officer, welfare policy, welfare service, welfare work; also, provided by the State for those in need, as welfare benefit, welfare cheque, welfare food, welfare milk; subsisting on benefits provided by the State, as welfare family, welfare mother; welfare capitalism, a capitalist system seeking to combine a desire for profits with concern for the welfare of its employees; welfare fund, a fund or funds from which payments are made in time of sickness, etc.; welfare hotel U.S., a hotel in which people on welfare are housed until more permanent quarters can be found for them; welfare manager, worker, a person engaged in looking after the welfare of people working in factories, mercantile establishments, etc.; welfare roll N. Amer., a list of those entitled to welfare benefits from the State.
1977M. Edelman Political Lang. vii. 125 Through disorder the poor have increased welfare benefits in the United States.
1960New Left Rev. Sept.–Oct. 10/2 The very real achievements of ‘welfare capitalism’. 1978P. Bailey Leisure & Class in Victorian Eng. ii. 43 Robert Owen's New Lanark mills had included an annexe comprising a school, museum, music hall and ballroom..and there were several other examples of this kind of welfare capitalism.
1917New Witness 28 June 202/1 It is continually stated that Maternity Clinics and Infant Welfare Centres have met with the greatest success in France. 1941J. S. Huxley On Living in Revolution (1944) 21 Communal feeding centres, crèches or welfare centres. 1947Sun (Baltimore) 6 May 22/8 The cashing of four welfare checks sent to one of her male inmates after his death. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 17 June 1–d/2 When he got his Social Security and welfare checks.
1937‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier v. 93 The baby was getting its weekly packets of milk from the Welfare Clinic. 1952Oxf. Jun. Encycl. X. 282/1 The welfare committees also provide welfare services for the blind, deaf, dumb and crippled.
1922S. Lewis Babbitt ii. 17, I wonder if I could get one of the department-stores to let me put in a welfare-department. 1977M. Edelman Political Lang. v. 79 A welfare department or education department bears a name that is even less adequate in defining the priorities to which it must respond. 1977New Yorker 27 June 88/3 The Spencers were far from being a welfare family; the house cost forty thousand dollars, which they could afford.
1948Ann. Reg. 1947 487 There were..subsidies on animal feedingstuffs, welfare foods, milk in schools. 1958Welfare food [see family allowance s.v. family n. 11].
1947Ann. Reg. 1946 205 Mr Lewis [sc. a trade-union leader]..refused even to discuss his demands until he had been granted a ‘welfare fund’ financed by a royalty on coal. 1978S. Sheldon Bloodline xxxix. 348 They were listed if they had paid taxes or drawn unemployment insurance or welfare funds.
1971Times 8 Jan. 5/1 The scandal of the ‘welfare hotels’ [in New York] where the city places homeless families has been simmering for many weeks. 1977N.Y. Rev. Bks. 15 Sept. 3/1 One welfare hotel in New York, the scene of repeated mayhem, is next to the local police station.
1906Daily Chron. 6 Sept. 4/5 The camp was managed by the Men's Welfare League.
1904Century Mag. Nov. 61 The welfare manager..who may be either a man or a woman, is a recognized intermediary between the employers and employees of mercantile houses and manufacturing plants.
1958Welfare milk [see family allowance s.v. family n. 11]. a1974R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 560 Increased family allowances with supplementary allowances and children's tax allowances, the price of school meals, the price of welfare milk, [etc.].
1971N.Y. Times 9 June 43 The needs of..the pressured pensioner, the welfare mother and the harried commuter in our cities involve the whole range of vital urban services. 1978Guardian Weekly 8 Jan. 16/4 Welfare mothers should get off the dole and go to work.
1976National Observer (U.S.) 12 June 4/3 I'd rather see people employed than at the welfare office.
1944Welfare officer [see say v.1 1 c]. 1963T. Parker Unknown Citizen ii. 58, I have been to see the C.A.C.A. welfare officer responsible for Smith's after-care.
1905Westm. Gaz. 28 Jan. 11/1 Another scheme..is well described..by its title, ‘the welfare policy’. The home of ‘the welfare policy’ is the city of Dayton, Ohio.
1970Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 1/1 The number of family units on the welfare rolls has more than doubled in the past year. 1979United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 300 A city where the list of places that offer poor boy sandwiches is probably longer than the welfare rolls.
1952Welfare service [see welfare committee above].
1903Review of Reviews July 79/1 The term ‘industrial betterment’, or ‘welfare work’, is used in a wider sense to include all of those services which an employer may render to his work people over and above the payment of wages. It has even been used to include the provision of homes for employees, kindergartens, schoolhouses [etc.]. 1916Daily Express 29 Mar. 6/5 Welfare work tends to improve the conditions of life for women and girls employed in factories, etc.
1904Century Mag. Nov. 63 The welfare worker of a large retail establishment.
▸ orig. U.S. welfare-to-work n. any of various government initiatives intended to give unemployed people or others receiving state benefits an incentive to find employment, or to enhance their prospects through training, special arrangements with employers, etc. Usu. attrib., designating or relating to such an incentive or scheme.
[1969R. Nixon in N.Y. Times 12 Aug. 18/5 The initial investment is needed now to stop the momentum of work-to-welfare and to start a new momentum in the opposite direction.] 1981N.Y. Times 11 Feb. a26/4 [The]..letter..renders a disservice to New York City's welfare-to-work efforts. 1990Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 3 Aug. 14 Welfare-to-work programs pose a challenge: How to encourage—even demand—self-sufficiency without weakening already fragile families. 1994Times (Electronic ed.) 29 Dec. Labour argues that instead of cutting benefits and training for the unemployed, the Government should be ensuring minimum standards for those in work and should put forward a large-scale welfare-to-work programme to help the unemployed to get jobs. 1997Independent 27 May 21 (heading) Will Labour's Welfare to Work really work? 2000A. Calcutt Brit Cult 164/2 When the New Labour government introduced welfare-to-work schemes for the young unemployed, various Britpoppers complained, claiming that the dole had been a formative, creative experience for them.
▪ II. † ˈwelfare, phr. Obs.
Also 6 well fare, 7 wellfare.
[f. as prec. Cf. farewell.]
The optative phrase well fare (you, it, etc.), used either as a genuine expression of good wishes (= ‘May it go well with’, ‘good luck to’) or employed ironically.
1534More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1214/2 Welfare your hert, good Uncle, for this good counsell of yours. 1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 2 Well fare London yet, for a policie besides water..pull downe the houses burning. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 42 But thine my Deare (welfare thy heart my deare). 1612T. James Corrupt. Scripture iii. 35 Yet welfare another learned Iesuit that had beene at Rome. 1625Burges Pers. Tithes 32 Now welfare Brownist. 1672S. Parker Pref. to Bramhall's Vind. a 2 Well fare poor Macedo for a modest Fool!
b. Used as n. with a.
1642Sir E. Dering Sp. Relig. 1 A well-fare to my Reader if he be either of birth or breeding: A farewell to the rest. |