Generous

Generous
Generous Gen"er*ous, a. [F. g['e]n['e]reux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d {Gender}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

The generous and gravest citizens. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. Exhibiting those qualities which are popularly reregarded as belonging to high birth; noble; honorable; magnanimous; spirited; courageous. ``The generous critic.'' --Pope. ``His generous spouse.'' --Pope. ``A generous pack [of hounds].'' --Addison. [1913 Webster]

3. Open-handed; free to give; not close or niggardly; munificent; as, a generous friend or father. [1913 Webster]

4. Characterized by generosity; abundant; overflowing; as, a generous table. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

5. Full of spirit or strength; stimulating; exalting; as, generous wine.

Syn: Magnanimous; bountiful. See {Liberal}. -- {Gen"er*ous*ly}, adv. -- {Gen"er*ous*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Generous — Upload / Commons Upload Père : Caerleon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • generous — [jen′ər əs] adj. [L generosus, of noble birth, excellent, generous < genus: see GENUS] 1. Obs. of noble birth 2. having qualities attributed to people of noble birth; noble minded; gracious; magnanimous 3. giving or sharing liberally and… …   English World dictionary

  • generous — I adjective altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, big hearted, bountiful, capacious, charitable, chivalrous, copious, decent, donative, gracious, humane, kind, kindly, magnanimous, meritorious, munificent, noble, philanthropic, unselfish, warm… …   Law dictionary

  • generous — 1580s, of noble birth, from M.Fr. généreux, from L. generosus of noble birth, figuratively magnanimous, generous, from genus (gen. generis) race, stock (see GENUS (Cf. genus)). Secondary senses of unselfish (1690s) and plentiful (1610s) were… …   Etymology dictionary

  • generous — [adj1] giving, big hearted acceptable, altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, big, bounteous, bountiful, charitable, considerate, easy, equitable, excellent, fair, free, good, greathearted, helpful, high minded, honest, honorable, hospitable, just,… …   New thesaurus

  • generous — bountiful, bounteous, openhanded, munificent, *liberal, handsome Analogous words: lavish, prodigal, *profuse, exuberant: benevolent, philanthropic, eleemosynary, *charitable, altruistic Antonyms: stingy Contrasted words: close, closefisted,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • generous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) freely giving more than is necessary or expected. 2) kind towards others. 3) larger or more plentiful than is usual. DERIVATIVES generosity noun generously adverb. ORIGIN originally in the sense «of noble birth»: from Latin… …   English terms dictionary

  • generous — gen|er|ous [ dʒen(ə)rəs ] adjective ** 1. ) giving people more of your time or money than is usual or expected: Merton is clearly a warm and generous human being. generous to: Billy was very generous to people who had less than he did. generous… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • generous */*/ — UK [ˈdʒenərəs] / US [ˈdʒen(ə)rəs] adjective 1) giving people more of your time or money than is usual or expected Merton is clearly a warm and generous person. generous to: Billy was very generous to people who had less than he did. generous with …   English dictionary

  • generous — gen|e|rous [ˈdʒenərəs] adj [Date: 1500 1600; : French; Origin: généreux, from Latin generosus born into a high rank , from genus; GENUS] 1.) someone who is generous is willing to give money, spend time etc, in order to help people or give them… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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