bounteous

[boun-tee-uh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bounteous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

giving or disposed to give freely; generous; liberal.

freely bestowed; plentiful; abundant.

Origin of bounteous

1325–75; late Middle English (bounte bounty + -ous); replacing Middle English bountevous < Middle French bontive (bonte bounty + -ive, feminine of -if -ive) + -ous

Related formsboun·te·ous·ly, adverbboun·te·ous·ness, nouno·ver·boun·te·ous, adjectiveo·ver·boun·te·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·boun·te·ous·ness, nounun·boun·te·ous, adjectiveun·boun·te·ous·ly, adverbun·boun·te·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bounteous

beneficent, bountiful, charitable, giving, magnanimous, munificent, philanthropic, substantial, abounding, ample, copious, plenitudinous, plenteous, plentiful, profuse, prolific, rich, voluminous

Examples from the Web for bounteous

Historical Examples of bounteous

Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire Mirth and youth and warm desire!
Graded Poetry: Second Year
Various
I thank you, and all of you for your cordiality and bounteous hospitality.
Latin America and the United States
Elihu Root
No better field for beggary in all Manhattan's bounteous acreage.
The Best Short Stories of 1920
Various
When fortune falls in love with a man she makes him a bounteous mistress.
The Frozen Pirate
W. Clark Russell
Praise for every varied good, Bounteous round our pathway strew'd!
The Liberty Minstrel
George W. Clark

British Dictionary definitions for bounteous

bounteous

adjective literary

giving freely; generousthe bounteous goodness of God

plentiful; abundant

Derived Formsbounteously, adverbbounteousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bounteous

adj.

late 14c., from bounty + -ous; originally "full of goodness," but always shading toward "generous in bestowing," a sense which logically might have been left to bountiful. Related: Bounteously; bounteousness.