lucre |ˈlo͞okər| noun
- Money, especially when regarded as sordid or distasteful or gained in a dishonourable way: officials getting their hands grubby with filthy lucre.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from French lucre or Latin lucrum; the phrase filthy lucre is with biblical allusion to Tit. 1:11.
IN LITERATURE: “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story by D. H. Lawrence. Lawerence uses the term filthy lucre to describe earnings from gambling.