largesse

Advancedzipf 2.31

Pronunciation

/lɑːˈdʒɛs/(lar-ZHES)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

慷慨赠与;大方施舍

Definition

Generosity in giving money or gifts, especially by someone in a position of power.

Word family

  • (no major derivatives)

Collocations

  • government largesse
  • corporate largesse
  • display largesse
  • benefit from largesse

Examples

  1. 1.The foundation's largesse has funded dozens of schools in developing countries. (generous giving)
  2. 2.Many organizations depend on government largesse for their survival. (generous funding)

Synonyms

  • generosity/ˌdʒɛnəˈrɒsɪti/willingness to give, general
  • philanthropy/fɪˈlænθrəpi/charitable giving
  • bounty/ˈbaʊnti/generous reward

Etymology

from Old French "largesse" — "large" = generous — nobility was expected to show largesse to subjects