generous
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛn(ə)ɹəs/[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Middle French généreux or directly borrowed from Latin generosus (“of noble birth; magnanimous”),[2][3][4] from genus (“race, stock”) (genitive generis) (see genus),[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *gene- (“to give birth, beget”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Of noble birth, and so noble in spirit: 1588, in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost;[2][5] 1583 in MWU.[4]
Semantic evolution
NODE traces the development from noble birth to the qualities thought natural to it: courage and magnanimity, then liberality.[6] Of animals, of good breed, is from 1607 and obsolete.[5] Plentiful, abundant, is from the 1610s,[3] and free in giving from 1696, probably after earlier French;[2][5] both senses were already present in French and Latin.[3] Of wine, rich and full-bodied, is a further use.[7]
Timeline
- 1583 – first use (MWU).[4]
- 1588 – of noble birth.[2][5]
- 1610s – plentiful.[3]
- 1696 – free in giving.[2][5]
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Willing to give money, help or time freely; liberal.
- Larger or more plentiful than usual; ample: a generous helping.
- Kind and fair in judging others; magnanimous.
Word family
- generously
- generousness
- overgenerous
- supergenerous
- ungenerous
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press