munificence
English
editPronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /mjuːˈnɪfɪsəns/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Etymology 1
editFrom Middle French munificence, from Latin munificentia, from munus (“gift”) + facio (“I make”).
Noun
editmunificence (usually uncountable, plural munificences)
- The quality of being munificent; generosity.
- 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 3:
- Now the happy king laid the forehead of thankſgiving upon the duſt of gratitude; he opened the doors of his wealth to the four winds, and enriched the world, at once, with his munificence.
- 1845, Lydia Sigourney, Scenes in my Native Land, The Great Oak of Geneseo, pages 86–87:
- And surely, no form of munificence should entitle to a more grateful and lasting remembrance, than that which promotes the right education of youth;...
Related terms
editTranslations
editthe quality of being munificent; generosity
|
Etymology 2
editCompare Latin munire (“to fortify”).
Noun
editmunificence
- (obsolete) Means of defence; fortification.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- Untill that Locrine for his Realmes defence,
Did head against them make and strong munificence
French
editEtymology
editLearned borrowing from Latin munificentia (“generosity”), from munus (“gift”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editmunificence f (plural munificences)
- generosity, munificence, liberality
- Synonym: largesse
- 1844, Honoré de Balzac, Modeste Mignon:
- Ce naïf soldat, [...] se crut l’homme le plus heureux du monde, en se voyant propriétaire d’une maison que la munificence de son chef garnit d’un joli mobilier [...]
- The naive soldier, […] thought himself the luckiest man in the world when he found himself the owner of a house which, thanks to his superior's munificence, was fitted out with some very nice furniture […]
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “munificence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (change)
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals
- English terms with obsolete senses
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French learned borrowings from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 4-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French terms with quotations