largesse

noun

lar·​gesse lär-ˈzhes  lär-ˈjes 

 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 largesse

—Harvey Breit

Did you know?

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

Synonyms

• bestowal
• comp
• donation
• donative
• fairing [British]
• freebie
• freebee
• gift
• giveaway
• handsel
• lagniappe
• present
• presentation

Examples of largesse in a Sentence

He relied on the largesse of friends after he lost his job.

Recent Examples on the Web

This largesse has been extended to friendly emerging economies (e.g., Taiwan, Korea) in recent decades. —George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Too bad all this licensing largesse went to one of the blandest seasons in Love Is Blind history. —Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025

Whether the relative largesse of the period since then continues remains to be seen. —Chris Weatherspoon, The Athletic, 20 Mar. 2025

But there are also less direct ways in which Musk has benefitted from government largesse. —Jeffery Vacante, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English largesse, from Anglo-French, from large

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for largesse

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

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Kids Definition

largesse

noun

lar·​gesse

variants also largess

lär-ˈzhes  lär-ˈjes 

1

: generous giving

2

: a generous gift