English

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Etymology

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From Middle English generosite, from Latin generōsitas.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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generosity (countable and uncountable, plural generosities)

  1. (uncountable) The trait of being willing to donate money, resources, or time.
    Synonyms: largesse, liberality
    Antonym: stinginess
    • 1963, Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society:
      We have mentioned generosity as an outstanding virtue required in Sioux life.
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
  2. (countable) A generous act.
    • 1873, Reverend M. C. Tyler, Proceedings at the Laying of the Corner Stone of the Sage College of the Cornell University:
      May the generosities of the founders of these halls, be rewarded by the fair and holy characters which shall be here formed [] .
  3. (uncountable) The trait of being abundant, more than adequate.
  4. (archaic, uncountable) Good breeding; nobility of stock.
    Synonym: nobility

Translations

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