# bonanza

> English word · Noun · IPA /bəˈnæn.zə/ · frequency rank #27,074

## Definitions
1. A rich mine or vein of silver or gold.
2. The point at which two mother lodes intersect.
3. Anything which is a great source of wealth or yields a large income or return.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der.
Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκός (mălăkós)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκῐ́ᾱ (mălăkĭ́ā)bor.
Latin malacia
▲
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”), in turn from Latin malacia (“calm sea”), influenced by bonus (“good”) under the false impression that initial mal- is a derivate of malus (“bad”).

## Easily confused with
- **banana** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/banana-vs-bonanza)

## Common misspellings (10)
`bbonanza`, `bnoanza`, `boannza`, `bonanaz`, `bonannza`, `bonanzza`, `bonazna`, `bonnanza`, `bonnaza`, `obnanza`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bonanza