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 sb.1). Cf. ON. velferð (Sw. välfärd, Da. velfærd) welfare, velfǫr parting, leave-taking.]
1. 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.
α. 1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 3928. Ȝyf þou euer haddyst sorow oþer kare Of þy neghëburs welfare.
c. 1369. Chaucer, Dethe Blaunche (Fairf.), 582. My lyfe, my lustes, be me loothe, For al welfare and I be wroothe.
1390. Gower, Conf., II. 116. So overcast is my welfare, That I am schapen al to strif.
1426. Lydg., De Guil. Pilgr., 9235. Thow art boundë to deuyse Hys goostly [h]elthë & wel-ffare.
1466[?]. Stonor Papers (Camden), I. 77. Desyryng to here of yower wellefare and prosperyte of body and sawle.
1540. Palsgr., Acolastus, I. i. D j b. I … had myne eye contynually vpon his welfare, I ouerpassed nothynge that myght profyt him.
1559. Aylmer, Harborowe, D 4 b. Whereupon dependeth either the welfare or ilfare of the whole realm.
1574. Mirr. Mag., Elstride, xxvii. [Thou] Didst liue a life deuoyde of all welfare.
1623. J. Taylor (Water P.), Discov. by Sea, C 3 b. Your laudable endeuours for your welfare and commodity.
1684. J. 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.
1718. Free-thinker, No. 65. 71. It was one continued Series of Actions, for the Welfare of the People.
1770. Goldsm., Des. Vill., 186. Their welfare pleas’d him, and their cares distress’d.
1838. Lytton, Alice, I. iii. Her first wish in life is for your happiness and welfare.
1847. Tennyson, Princess, III. 264. They know not, cannot guess How much their welfare is a passion to us.
1892. Weekly 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.
β. 1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 1715. Ȝyf þou fordost þe weylfare Betwyx þo þat weddyde are.
1357. Lay Folks Catech., 434. That our hert be noght to hegh for no welefare, Ne ouer mikel undir for nane yvel fare.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 1354. Ful glad was sir Gawayne, Of the welefar of Sir Ywayne.
c. 1440. Lydg., Hors, Shepe & G., 495. Where pees restith, ther is al weelfare.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, V. 524. Spek I will off Wallace glaid weillfar.
1521. G. Douglas, in Ellis, Orig. Lett., Ser. III. I. 293. Concernyng ye weylfar and surte of his derrest nevo the Kyng.
1570. Satir. Poems Reform., xiii. 224. Pray … [that] Hir grace lang space may in gude weilfair stand.
1785. Burns, 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.
1310. Rot. 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.
c. 1369. Chaucer, Dethe Blaunche, 1040. For certes she was … My worldes welfare and my goddesse. Ibid. (c. 1374), Troylus, IV. 228. Lyth Troylus byraft of eche welfare I-bounde in þe blake bark of care.
c. 1440. Alphabet 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. Good cheer, good living or entertainment.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, xxix. (Placidas), 602. & ȝet þane til ane Inis haf þaim he can, & gert mak þaim welfare of al thing þat was necessare.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XIX. 350. To wasten, on welfare and on wykked kepynge, Al þe worlde in a while þorw owre witte.
c. 1440. Jacob’s Well, 236. Þe iiij. nyȝt, þei weryn herberwyd at an-oþer good mannys hows, & haddyn gret wel-fare.
a. 1470. H. 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.
1528. Roy, Rede me (Arb.), 45. Both in welfare and wede, With oute doute they farre excede The nobles of the region.
1577. W. Harrison, Descr. Scot., i. 2/1, in Holinshed. Those that are giuen much vnto wine and such welfare.
† b. Abundance (of meat, drink). Obs.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Wks. (1880), 61. Þei … han lordschipis, rentis, gaie houses & costy, & welfare of mete & drynk.
a. 1395. Hylton, Scala Perf., I. lxxii. (W. de W., 1494). He that … delytes in welfare of mete or drynke.
4. Comb. In recent use with sense of ‘relating to or concerned with the welfare of’ (workers, children, etc.) as welfare-committee, policy, work; welfare-manager, -worker, a person engaged in looking after the welfare of people working in factories, mercantile establishments, etc.
1904. Lillie Hamilton French, in Century Mag., Nov., 61/1. 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. Ibid., 63/1. ‘My sole aim,’ the welfare worker of a large retail establishment said to me, ‘is to increase the wages of the employees.’
1905. Westm. 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.
1906. Daily Chron., 6 Sept., 4/5. The camp was managed by the Men’s Welfare League.
1916. Daily Express, 29 March, 6/5. Welfare work tends to improve the conditions of life for women and girls employed in factories, etc.
