The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Welfare \Wel"fare`\, n. [Well + fare to go, to proceed, to
   happen.]
   Well-doing or well-being in any respect; the enjoyment of
   health and the common blessings of life; exemption from any
   evil or calamity; prosperity; happiness.
   [1913 Webster]

         How to study for the people's welfare.   --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         In whose deep eyes
         Men read the welfare of the times to come. --Emerson.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

welfare
    n 1: governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in
         need; "she lives on welfare" [syn: social welfare,
         welfare, public assistance]
    2: something that aids or promotes well-being; "for the benefit
       of all" [syn: benefit, welfare]
    3: a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous;
       "the town was finally on the upbeat after our recent
       troubles" [syn: wellbeing, well-being, welfare,
       upbeat, eudaemonia, eudaimonia] [ant: ill-being]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

117 Moby Thesaurus words for "welfare":
   ADC, Easy Street, Medicaid, Medicare, advantage, affluence, aid,
   alimony, allotment, allowance, almsgiving, altruistic, annuity,
   assistance, avail, bed of roses, behalf, behoof, beneficent,
   benefit, benevolent, benison, bighearted, blessing, boon, bounty,
   charitable, child welfare, clover, comfort, commonweal,
   contentment, cradle-to-grave security, depletion allowance, dole,
   ease, easy circumstances, eleemosynary, felicity, fellowship,
   financial assistance, fleshpots, fortune, freehearted, gain,
   generous, good, gracious life, gracious living, grant,
   grant-in-aid, greathearted, guaranteed annual income,
   guaranteed income, happiness, health insurance, help, humanitarian,
   interest, lap of luxury, largehearted, life of ease,
   loaves and fishes, luck, luxury, old-age assistance,
   old-age insurance, pecuniary aid, pension, philanthropic,
   price support, profit, prosperity, prosperousness,
   public assistance, public welfare, relief, retirement benefits,
   satisfaction, scholarship, security, sickness insurance,
   social insurance, social security, social service, social welfare,
   social work, socialized medicine, state medicine, stipend,
   subsidization, subsidy, subvention, success, support, tax benefit,
   the affluent life, the good life, thriving condition,
   unemployment compensation, unemployment insurance, upward mobility,
   velvet, weal, wealth, welfare aid, welfare capitalism,
   welfare payments, welfare state, welfare statism, welfare statist,
   welfare work, welfarism, welfarist, well-being,
   womb-to-tomb security, world of good