libéralité

Forms

libéralité f (plural libéralités)^[1] Old French liberalité, nominative liberalitez.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin līberālitās (“generosity, gift”), from līberālis (“liberal, generous”).^[3][4][5] The Latin adjective meant “worthy of a free man, generous” and comes from līber (“free”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Fet des Romains (1213) it means the disposition to give generously.^[3][7] Brunetto Latini's Trésor (13th century) defines it as a virtue that gives and does good: “Liberalitez est une vertu qui done et fait benefice”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word stood for the moral notion of generosity and, concretely, from about 1500 (Commynes), a generous gift.^[5][3] In the 19th century, after libéral, it extended to tolerance and open-mindedness (1802).^[5][3] Littré records it also for the disposition of mind worthy of a free man, freed from prejudice, and sometimes for liberalism.^[2] In law une libéralité is an act by which one person gives another an advantage without anything in return.^[8]

Timeline

• 1213 – First record, in the Fet des Romains.^[3]
• c. 1500 – Commynes uses it for a generous gift.^[3][5]
• 1802 – The sense “open-mindedness” appears.^[3][5]
• 1807 – Mme de Staël uses it in that sense.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary) The disposition to give generously; generosity, liberality.^[8][3]
2. A generous gift: faire des libéralités à ses neveux.^[8][3]
3. (law) An act by which one person grants another an advantage without return, as a donation or a legs.^[8]
4. Open-mindedness, broadness of mind.^[3][5]

Related words

• libéral
• liberté
• Latin līberālitās

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert