Friday, June 17, 2011

largess


largess also largesse [lɑrˈdʒɛs, ˈlɑrdʒɪs] n.

1.) Liberality; generosity; bounty. [Obs.]
2.) A present; a gift; a bounty bestowed (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary).

Etymology: Middle English largesse, from Old French, from large, generous, from Latin largus.

"Kim slunk away, his teeth in the bread, and, as he expected, he found a small wad of folded tissue-paper wrapped in oilskin, with three silver rupees—enormous largesse. He smiled and thrust money and paper into his leather amulet-case." (Kim, Rudyard Kipling, 1901).

(The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1773)

19 comments:

DEZMOND said...

me like the illustration you chose for this word, E (Edgar, Edmund, Erick, Edwin, Elton???) :)

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yes, the largesse of Lady Bountiful!

Dejch said...

Another weird word :)

Ana said...

the trojans sure didn't get the largesse they expected :b

Jesse Crows said...

never heard of this word before!

TIMMYTHEROBOT said...

learn something new everyday!

Anonymous said...

Finally a word which I know!!! - I feel proud of myself ;)

Meri said...

Sounds like a fun name to call a ... large.. person or thing :)

Intraman said...

thanks for the lexical largesses you bestow upon us every day

Once Upon A Time... said...

sure you won't post any pics, this is a dictionary blog after all...

jos xx

JayPower said...

Largessss, awesome word ;D

Fang said...

Trojan times were good times, for sure. Tactical inovation it was.

shari said...

I've actually read and heard this one, so I knew what it meant. Also, people use that word to describe me and my actions... Due to Shari's largess, everyone at this party will have plenty to drink!

Natasha said...

I love the excerpt you posted today, and this is a great word. I'll have to find ways to drop these into conversation from now on. I thought it would have French origins when I first saw the word too. And no worries, I'll be back to blogging soon! xxx

Twenty.Something said...

Love all the words you discover!

-E- said...

@DEZMOND i wish it was edmund. that'd be awesome!

@Intraman well-played, sir.

@jos xx it's an auteured dictionary blog, though, you have to admit. truth be told, i don't even own a digital camera.

M Pax said...

A new word, a largesse to the writers. :D It's a good word.

A Beer for the Shower said...

If I get laid once a week, the little lady is showing extreme largess.

i said...

Hey, a word I've actually heard used!

"Thanks to the family’s largesse, Buster has studied everything from Native American tribal ceremonies to cartography - the mapping of uncharted territories." -Arrested Development, one of the funniest TV series ever.

When I first heard that line, I guessed what "largess" meant based on context, but now I can finally put a real definition to the word!

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