bonanza

See also: Bonanza

English

Etymology

From Spanish bonanza (“calm sea, fair weather, good luck, rich lode”), from Medieval Latin bonacia (“fair weather”), a blend of bonus (“good”) +‎ malacia (“calm sea”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈnænzə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænzə

Noun

bonanza (plural bonanzas)

1. (mining) A rich mine or vein of silver or gold.

   Antonym: borrasca

2. The point at which two mother lodes intersect.
3. (by extension, figuratively) Anything which is a great source of wealth or yields a large income or return.

   Synonym: mother lode

   The popular show quickly became a ratings bonanza for the network.

   • 2013 August 31, Bagehot, “The parable of the Clyde”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 408, number 8851:

     For two decades the bonanza on Scotland’s west coast continued. An occupation that had been seasonal and modestly profitable became year-round and lucrative. Baskets of herring put televisions into fishermen’s cottages and cars outside their doors. But fish, like oil and gas, with which Scotland’s continental shelf is also well-endowed, are not in unlimited supply.

   • 2021 March 26, Peter S. Goodman, “In Suez Canal, Stuck Ship Is a Warning About Excessive Globalization”, in The New York Times‎^[2], ISSN 0362-4331:

     It has also yielded a bonanza for corporate executives and other shareholders: Money not spent filling warehouses with unneeded auto parts is, at least in part, money that can be given to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Translations

rich mine or vein of silver or gold

• Dutch: goudader (nl)
• Finnish: emosuoni

• Russian: бона́нца f (bonánca)

point at which two mother lodes intersect

• Russian: бона́нца f (bonánca)

something that is a mine of wealth or yields a large income or return

• Dutch: goudmijn (nl)
• Finnish: kultakaivos (fi)

• German: Goldgrube (de) f
• Russian: золото́е дно (ru) n (zolotóje dno)

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Spanish

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *bonacia, alteration of malacia. Compare Italian bonaccia (“dead calm”).

Noun

bonanza f (plural bonanzas)

1. (nautical) good weather
2. (figuratively) bloom, flourishing

   Synonym: prosperidad

Descendants

• → English: bonanza

Further reading

• “bonanza” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.