bounteous
Americanadjective
-
giving or disposed to give freely; generous; liberal.
- Synonyms:
- openhanded, munificent, lavish, free-handed, free
adjective
-
giving freely; generous
the bounteous goodness of God
-
plentiful; abundant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bounteous
First recorded in 1325–75; late Middle English bo(u)ntevous, from Old French bontieus, bontive (equivalent to bonte “goodness” + -ive, feminine of adjective ending -if ) + -ous adjective suffix, influenced by bounty; see also -ive, -ous
Explanation
Things that are bounteous are plentiful and generously given. Your friends might celebrate your birthday by bringing you a bounteous armful of flowers. Farmers planting their crops in the spring hope for a bounteous harvest in the summer, and the very best elementary school teachers have bounteous amounts of affection for children. Bounteous things are found in great abundance. The word's original, fourteenth century meaning was "full of goodness," from the noun bounty, or "generosity." The Latin root is bonitatem, or "goodness."
Vocabulary lists containing bounteous
Twelfth Night
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The Tempest
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A Room of One's Own
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Bounteous bought Atlanta-based commerce and customer experience agency FortyFour last December, the lack of face time made it the company’s “most challenging acquisition to date,” she said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 4, 2021
Bounteous, a Chicago-based consulting company that helps brands build online experiences, also plans to be “more strategic” about travel going forward, Chief People Officer Leah Weyandt said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 4, 2021
From the marshes and pools of the stream, "Here let your journeyings cease; Blest of the Bounteous Giver, Yours is the Valley of Peace, Here is the home of your dream."
From Time Magazine Archive
The EARTH, therefore, the great PRODUCER, was always represented as a female, as the MOTHER,—Great, Bounteous, Beneficent Mother Earth.
From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert
Gospel Call to the Church. 1Praise to God, the great Creator, Bounteous Source of every joy, He whose hand upholds all nature, He whose word can all destroy!
From Hymns for Christian Devotion Especially Adapted to the Universalist Denomination by Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
