Bonanza

How to spell bonanza

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce bonanza

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bonanza mean?

1. nounA sudden source of great wealth, profit, or good fortune.

Bonanza in a sentence

• The new contract turned out to be a financial bonanza for the small firm.

• The holiday sale was a bonanza for shoppers hunting cheap electronics.

Where does bonanza come from?

Language of origin: Spanish

The word came into English from Spanish bonanza, which meant 'fair weather at sea' and, by extension, 'prosperity' or 'good fortune'. The Spanish noun grew from the Latin bonacia, an alteration of malacia ('a dead calm at sea'), which had been reshaped under the influence of the Latin adjective bonus, meaning simply 'good'. From the idea of calm, favourable conditions for a voyage, the sense slid naturally toward general prosperity and a sudden run of luck. English picked it up in the 1840s through American miners in the West, where a 'bonanza' was a spectacularly rich vein of ore, and the modern meaning of any sudden source of great wealth or success followed directly. The same Latin bonus still sits inside everyday words such as 'bonus' and 'bonfire's cousin' relatives like 'bounty', which can help anchor the bon- start of the spelling.

How the word is built

• bon- (from Latin bonus: good)
• -anza (noun suffix forming an abstract or collective sense)