bonanza

See also: Bonanza and bonanzą

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der.

Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκός (mălăkós)

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)

Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκῐ́ᾱ (mălăkĭ́ā)bor.

Latin malacia

Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?

Proto-Italic *dwenos

Old Latin duenos

Old Latin duonus

Latin bonusinflu.

Vulgar Latin *bonacia

Spanish bonanzabor.

English bonanza

Borrowed from Spanish bonanza (“dead calm, fair weather, good luck, rich lode”), from Vulgar Latin *bonacia (“lull, dead calm”), influenced by bonus (“good”) under the false impression that initial mal- is a derivate of malus (“bad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈnæn.zə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bo‧nan‧za
• 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, figurative) 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:

     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.

Descendants

• → Polish: bonanza

Translations

rich mine or vein of silver or gold

• Dutch: goudader (nl)
• Finnish: emosuoni
• Korean: 노다지 (nodaji)
• Polish: bonanza (pl) f
• Russian: бона́нца f (bonánca)
• Ukrainian: бонанца f (bonanca), золота жила f (zolota žyla)

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
• Hungarian: aranybánya (hu)
• Indonesian: bonanza (id)
• Polish: bonanza (pl) f
• Russian: золото́е дно (ru) n (zolotóje dno)
• Ukrainian: золота жила f (zolota žyla)

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boˈnanθa/ [boˈnãn̟.θa]
• Rhymes: -anθa
• Syllabification: bo‧nan‧za

Noun

bonanza f (plural bonances)

1. good weather

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed 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): /boˈnan.za/, [boˈnan.za]
• Rhymes: -za
• Hyphenation: bo‧nan‧za

Noun

bonanza (plural bonanza-bonanza)

1. bonanza, gold mine, lucky strike, sweet deal

Further reading

• “bonanza” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bonanza, from Spanish bonanza, from Vulgar Latin *bonacia, alteration of malacia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔˈnan.za/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -anza
• Syllabification: bo‧nan‧za

Noun

bonanza f

1. (literary, mining) bonanza (rich mine or vein of silver or gold)
2. (literary) gold mine, lucky strike, sweet deal (very profitable economic venture)

   Synonyms: dojna krowa, kokosowy interes, kopalnia złota, kura znosząca złote jajka, złoty interes, żyła złota

3. (colloquial) lark, snorter (unexpected, unusual event)

   Synonym: heca

Declension

Declension of bonanza

	singular	plural
nominative	bonanza	bonanzy
genitive	bonanzy	bonanz
dative	bonanzie	bonanzom
accusative	bonanzę	bonanzy
instrumental	bonanzą	bonanzami
locative	bonanzie	bonanzach
vocative	bonanzo	bonanzy

Further reading

• bonanza in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bonanza in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der.

Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκός (mălăkós)

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)

Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκῐ́ᾱ (mălăkĭ́ā)bor.

Latin malacia

Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.?

Proto-Italic *dwenos

Old Latin duenos

Old Latin duonus

Latin bonusinflu.

Vulgar Latin *bonacia

Spanish bonanza

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boˈnanθa/ [boˈnãn̟.θa] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /boˈnansa/ [boˈnãn.sa] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -anθa (Spain)
• Rhymes: -ansa (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: bo‧nan‧za

Noun

bonanza f (plural bonanzas)

1. (nautical) lull, dead calm (calm sea weather)
2. (figurative) bloom, flourishing

   Synonym: prosperidad

Descendants

• → English: bonanza
  • → Polish: bonanza
• → Portuguese: bonança

Further reading

• “bonanza”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10