millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Strangely, English appears to lack a word for "one who earns at least a
million dollars a year every year, or nearly a million year after year,
until he has at least a million in capital at his disposal."

That's how I've been interpreting the word in the current context, but
possibly I've missed something.

JL

On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
>
> I always thought a millionaire was a person who had a million dollars,
> and the OED tends to confirm that.
>
> Recent media discussion about the "Buffet Rule" (to raise income tax
> rates on wealthy) talks about millionaires in such a way that only makes
> sense if a millionaire is one who earns a million dollars within a year.
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
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