largesse

noun

lar·​gesse lär-ˈzhes How to pronounce largesse (audio) lär-ˈjes How to pronounce largesse (audio)
 also  ˈlär-ˌjes
variants or less commonly largess
1
: liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to an inferior
a philanthropist known for his largesse
also : something so given
projects depending on a flow of federal largesse
2
: generosity
his generosity of spirit, an absolutely natural largesseHarvey Breit

Did you know?

The word largesse, which also can be spelled largess, comes from Anglo-French large, meaning "generous."

Examples of largesse in a Sentence

He relied on the largesse of friends after he lost his job.
Recent Examples on the Web As further federal largesse seem unlikely, this raises a question: Is Epic’s relative success the absolute best case for digital health companies selling software to providers? Seth Joseph, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 But Tesla’s volatile CEO has a history of very vocal opposition to these subsidies and the governments that pass them—all while building an empire off the federal largesse provided to his companies. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 7 Sep. 2023 How to take public transit to see Taylor Swift at SoFi Stadium July 31, 2023 The Eras tour also arrives amid a labor fight about how L.A.’s entertainment largesse is shared. Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023 Instead, bask in others’ generosity, with Jupiter spreading its largesse on the 7th. Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2023 But economists argue the fiscal largesse of recent years is providing an unshakable economic boost to manufacturing. Bryan Mena, CNN, 9 Sep. 2023 From Netflix to Reddit to Twitter and beyond, the signs are everywhere that the days of seemingly unlimited tech largesse are rapidly coming to an end. Matt Weinberger, Fortune, 26 June 2023 For producers in places like South Korea, the impact of this largesse is complicated. Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg.com, 8 June 2023 Democrats continued to benefit from the largesse of Pritzker, a billionaire entrepreneur and Hyatt Hotels heir who gave $1 million each to his party’s candidates for secretary of state, Alexi Giannoulias, and attorney general, Kwame Raoul, in September. Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'largesse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English largesse, from Anglo-French, from large

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of largesse was in the 13th century

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Dictionary Entries Near largesse

Cite this Entry

“Largesse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/largesse. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

largesse

noun
lar·​gesse
variants also largess
1
: generous giving
2
: a generous gift

More from Merriam-Webster on largesse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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