Largesse

noun

/lɑːˈʒɛs/ (also /ˈlɑːdʒɛs/, OED)

Generosity in giving, especially the liberal bestowal of money or gifts by a person of wealth or power; also the gifts or money so given.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Welfare schemes anchored in rights and institutional entitlement empower citizens, whereas those dispensed as the ruler's largesse in the run-up to elections breed dependency and corrode the accountability that genuine democratic governance demands.

Synonyms

generositymunificenceliberalitybountybeneficenceopenhandedness

Antonyms

stinginessmiserlinessparsimonyniggardliness

🌱 Word Family

large (adj), largely (adv), largess (n variant), enlarge (v), enlargement (n)

🔡 Root

Old French largesse = bounty; Vulgar Latin largitia = abundance; Latin largus = abundant, liberal

📜 Etymology

From Old French largesse ("bounty, munificence"), from Vulgar Latin largitia ("abundance"), from Latin largus ("abundant, liberal"); in English from c. 1200.

🧠 Memory Hook

Think "LARGE" + "-esse" — a LARGE-hearted, large-handed giving. Someone with largesse gives on a large scale.

💰 Indian Economy 📖 Seen in: Planning & Resource Mobilisation for D...

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