Pelf (pĕlf), n. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.] Money; riches; lucre; gain; — generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. “Mucky pelf.” Spenser. “Paltry pelf.” Burke.
Can their pelf prosper, not got by valor or industry? Fuller.