munificent

English

WOTD – 6 September 2012

Etymology

Back-formation from munificence, from Latin mūnificentia.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /mjuˈnɪfɪsn̩t/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

munificent (comparative more munificent, superlative most munificent)

1. (of a person or group) Very liberal in giving or bestowing.
   • 1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XXI, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 272:

     Munificent as he was in his own disposition in the conferring of favours, his acceptance, under the circumstances we have described, of the fortune bestowed by Robert, he found upon reasoning with himself to be perfectly consistent with the most scrupulous principles of uprightness and probity: […]

   • 1859, Charles Dickens, chapter 30, in A Tale of Two Cities:

     Tellson's Bank […] was a munificent house, and extended great liberality to old customers who had fallen from their high estate.

   • 1974 April 8, “Politics: Milkmen Skimming Off More Cream”, in Time‎^[1], retrieved 5 Sept 2013:

     [M]ilk producers are among the most munificent backers of political campaigns in the U.S.

   • 2008 March 20, Martin Filler, “Broad-Minded Museum”, in New York Review of Books‎^[2], retrieved 5 Sept 2013:

     An exceptionally munificent benefactor of several institutions, he has given $100 million each to MIT and Harvard.

2. (of a gift, donation, etc.) Very generous; lavish.
   • 1886, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 1, in Jo's Boys […] ‎^[3], Boston: Roberts Brothers:

     On the hill, where kites used to be flown, stood the fine college which Mr Laurence's munificent legacy had built.

   • 1914, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 25, in A Daughter of the Donss:

     It was all very well for this casual youth to make her a present of a half million acres of land in this debonair way, but she could not persuade herself to accept so munificent a gift.

   • 1969 April 11, “Business: Up, Up and Away with Wages”, in Time‎^[4], retrieved 5 Sept 2013:

     The machinists finally agreed to a munificent increase averaging 5.7% a year for three years.

Synonyms

• bounteous, generous, liberal

Derived terms

• munificently

Related terms

• municipal
• municipality
• munificence
• remunerate
• remuneration

Translations

(of a person or group) very liberal in giving or bestowing

• Armenian: առատաձեռն (hy) (aṙatajeṙn)
• Bulgarian: разточителен (bg) (raztočitelen), да́шен (dášen)
• Czech: velkomyslný (cs), velkorysý (cs)
• Dutch: vrijgevig (nl), goedgeefs (nl), gul (nl), munificent, genereus (nl)
• Finnish: antelias (fi), avokätinen (fi)
• German: freigebig (de)
• Hindi: दानवीर (hi) (dānvīr)
• Indonesian: dermawan (id)
• Italian: munifico (it)
• Korean: 후하다 (ko) (huhada)
• Maori: ngākau oha
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: generøs (no), raus (no), rundhåndet

  Nynorsk: raus

• Ottoman Turkish: جومرد (cömerd), كریم (kerim)
• Polish: szczodry (pl) m
• Russian: ще́дрый (ru) m (ščédryj)
• Spanish: generoso (es), desprendido (es), dadivoso (es), munificente (es)
• Swedish: frikostig (sv), givmild (sv), generös (sv)
• Ukrainian: щедрий m (ščedryj)

(of a gift, donation, etc.) very generous; lavish

• Bulgarian: щедър (bg) (štedǎr)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 厚重 (hau⁵ zung⁶)

  Mandarin: 厚重 (zh) (hòuzhòng)

• Czech: velkomyslný (cs), velkorysý (cs)
• Finnish: antelias (fi), avokätinen (fi)
• German: großzügig (de)
• Korean: 후하다 (ko) (huhada)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: raus (no), generøs (no), overdådig (no)

• Ukrainian: щедрий m (ščedryj)

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin munificus, munificens (“liberal”), from munus (“gift”) + facio (“I make”).

Adjective

munificent (comparative munificenter, superlative munificentst)

1. generous

Declension

Declension of munificent
uninflected	munificent
inflected	munificente
comparative	munificenter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		munificent	munificenter	het munificentst het munificentste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	munificente	munificentere	munificentste
	n. sing.	munificent	munificenter	munificentste
	plural	munificente	munificentere	munificentste
definite		munificente	munificentere	munificentste
partitive		munificents	munificenters	—

Synonyms

• (generous): genereus, gul, goedgeefs, vrijgevig, royaal

French

Etymology

Back-formation from munificence.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /my.ni.fi.sɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

munificent (feminine munificente, masculine plural munificents, feminine plural munificentes)

1. munificent
   • 1946, André Malraux, La Condition humaine, Folio Plus Classiques, published 2019, page 191:

     « Soyez comme à l’ordinaire, munificent, dit-il à Gisors : donnez-moi votre caquetusse. »

     "Be munificent, as you usually are," he said to Gisors. "Give me your cactus."

Further reading

• “munificent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French munificent.

Adjective

munificent m or n (feminine singular munificentă, masculine plural munificenți, feminine and neuter plural munificente)

1. munificent

Declension

Declension of munificent

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	munificent		munificentă		munificenți	munificente
	definite	munificentul		munificenta		munificenții	munificentele
genitive- dative	indefinite	munificent		munificente		munificenți	munificente
	definite	munificentului		munificentei		munificenților	munificentelor