From Latin 'lucrum' (profit), permanently tainted by the biblical phrase 'filthy lucre' — the neutral word became inherently sordid.
Money, especially when regarded as sordid or obtained dishonestly (usually in 'filthy lucre').
From Latin 'lucrum' (profit, gain), which was a neutral word. The negative connotation comes entirely from the Bible: Paul's first letter to Timothy condemns pursuing 'filthy lucre' ('aischron kerdos' in Greek). The King James Bible's translation made
'Lucre' is a perfectly respectable Latin word that got permanently stained by one Bible verse. Latin 'lucrum' just meant profit — no moral judgment. But when the Bible warned against 'filthy lucre,' the word became so associated with greed that it's now impossible to use neutrally. Meanwhile, its sibling 'lucrative' (from the same