Lagniappe
نواصل عرض الكلمات التي تطرّق إليها البروفيسور الفاضل دنحا ، و الهدف كما تعلمون هو تحديث القواميس السائدة حالياً ، و وضع قاموس الألفية الثالثة .
مع فائق التقدير للمتحاورين الكرام
Word of the Day: Lagniappe (Noun)
Pronunciation: [lahn-'yahp] Listen
Definition: A gratuity given by a merchant to a customer beyond the value of a purchase; a bonus or additional benefit of any sort.
Usage: Today's word entered US English directly from the language of the Acadians (Cajuns) of Louisiana and has spread rapidly eastward. In 'Life on the Mississippi' (1883) Mark Twain writes, "We picked up one excellent word—a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word 'lagniappe.'" He was so right. The custom of tipping the customer is wide-spread around the world but it must be new in the English-speaking world, since English had to go elsewhere for a word expressing it.
Suggested Usage: Kids, here a way to really impress your parents with your progress in school, "Guess what, Mom? Linda gave me two of her kittens as a lagniappe for taking one of the puppies!" Adults will find uses for it, too, whenever they need a word for a pleasant, unexpected bonus, "Frieda had thoroughly enjoyed the party and seeing the dog bite her boss' leg was the perfect lagniappe to cap the evening off."
Etymology: Louisiana French Creole, from American Spanish la ñapa "the gift, tip" from la "the," derived from Latin illa, feminine of ille "that," originally "yonder." The same pronoun is also the origin of French "le" and "la" which also mean "the." This word traces its root to *al- which we find in alter "other" at the base of English "altercation," "alter ego," and "alternate." In English it emerged as "else." The noun ñapa is even more interesting. It comes from yapa, which means "gift" in the South American Indian language, Quechua, from the verb yapay "to give more."
—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com
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