Meaning

noun an abundance of material possessions and resources

noun people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)

originFrom Middle English riches, plural of riche (“power, wealth”), from Old English rīċe (“power, authority, dominion”). Confused with Middle English richesse (“wealth”), from Old French richesse, from riche (“rich, wealthy”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *rīki (“rich”) from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“rich, powerful”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct, make right”). Akin…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0