largesse

noun lar·gesse \ lär-ˈzhes , lär-ˈjes also ˈlär-ˌjes \

variants: or less commonly largess

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: largesse in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of largesse

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

See largesse defined for English-language learners

See largesse defined for kids

largesse was our Word of the Day on 02/02/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of largesse in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of largesse from the Web

Sunny Optical’s affluent employees have benefited from the largesse of Wang Wenjian, who started the company in Yuyao, a small city on China’s eastern coast, in 1984.

— Fortune, "A 9,500% Stock Surge Turns Janitors Into Millionaires," 5 June 2018
Says tech’s financial largesse should be funneled directly into projects that address the city’s most pressing problems, such as homelessness and street cleanliness.

— dominic fracassa, SFChronicle.com, "Where SF mayoral candidates stand on city’s biggest issues," 25 May 2018
The source of the largesse earmarked for electric and clean vehicle technology comes from a fine imposed by the EPA on Volkswagen AG for cheating on diesel emissions testing.

— cherise threewitt, chicagotribune.com, "VW diesel settlement money spurs controversy in Illinois," 10 May 2018
Much of their plan seems designed to maximize the club’s Silicon Valley and European connections absent the financial largesse of bigger MLS clubs.

— grant wahl and brian straus, SI.com, "2018 MLS Ambition Rankings: Which Clubs Raise the Bar Highest as the League Grows?," 23 Apr. 2018
How can Callisto truly protect its users from abusive members of the investment community when its own existence is dependent on that community’s largesse?

— lux alptraum, The Verge, "Can Callisto transform how Silicon Valley deals with sexual harassment?," 17 Apr. 2018
Last year, the Smiths’ largesse covered the adoption fees for 46 cats and dogs.

— jonas shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "Former Ravens cover $9,000 in adoption costs for BARCS' Pawject Runway event," 8 May 2018
Lee wields Washington’s charm and largesse against him.

— k. austin collins, HWD, "20 Years After Its Release, Spike Lee’s Basketball Epic He Got Game Remains Searing and Essential," 2 May 2018
Rich, western European countries are split over the way ahead, with France leading a group that supports farm largesse and the Netherlands spearheading a smaller alliance opposed to higher national contributions.

— jonathan stearns, Bloomberg.com, "Europe Fires Starting Gun for Fight Over Next EU Spending Plan," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'largesse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The word largesse, which also can be spelled "largess" (as in our second example sentence), has been part of the English language since at least the 13th century. It derives via Anglo-French from the Latin word largus, meaning "abundant" or "generous." "Largus" is also the source of our word large. As far back as the 14th century, we used the word largeness as a synonym of "largesse" ("liberal giving"). In fact, that may have been the first sense of "largeness," which has since come to refer to physical magnitude and bulk more often than to magnanimity.