Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday October 28, 2003
largess \lar-ZHES; lar-JES; LAR-jes\
, noun;
also largesse:
1. Generous giving (as of gifts or money), often accompanied by condescension.
2. Gifts, money, or other valuables so given.
3. Generosity; liberality.
Four years after her marriage she exclaimed giddily over her father-in-law's largess: "He has given Waldorf the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for a birthday present!"
-- Stacy Schiff, "Otherwise Engaged", New York Times, March 19, 2000
The recipients of Johnson's largesse were understandably indifferent to what propelled him.
-- Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973
A swelling chorus has arisen recently to complain that the PRI has been up to its old tricks, showering voters with largesse (ranging from washing machines to bicycles and cash).
-- "Mexico's vote", Economist, June 24, 2000
Largess is from Old French largesse, "largeness, generosity," from large, from Latin largus, "plentiful, generous."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for largess
