English → Latin
“generous” in Latin
largusabundant, copious, plentiful, large, abounding in something; bountiful, liberal, munificent; generous with, lavish oflīberālisfreedom; dignified, honorable, befitting a freedman; generous, liberal, bountiful, amplebeneficusbeneficent; generous, liberal; blessedbenignuskind, good, friendly, pleasant; beneficent, obliging, bounteous; favorable, mildmūnificusbountiful, liberal, benevolent, generous, munificentgenerōsuswell-born, well-bred, noble; superior, excellent; generous, magnanimousingenuusnatural, indigenous; free-born, freeborn, of free birth; noble, upright, frank, candid, ingenuous
The English word generous itself goes back to Latin genus, through generōsus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
generous
Bountiful, etc., largus: liberalis (the former of interested, the latter of disinterested high-principled liberality [opposed to prodigus]; ☞ Cic., Off., 2, 16, 55): beneficus: benignus (benignus, PROP. with reference to kind feeling, but often = bountiful; ☞ Cic., Deiot., 9, 26): munificus (often making presents without expecting any return). (The words are found in this connection and order.) beneficus liberalisque: liberalis et beneficus: liberalis munificusque: munificus et liberalis: largus, beneficus, liberalis: pecuniae liberalis (Sall., Cat., 7): generosus: liberalis (of persons, and their mode of thinking): generosi spiritus (of noble sentiments, etc.): ingenuus (only of sentiments). ☞ SYN. in GENEROSITY.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for generous?
- The usual Latin words for “generous” are largus, līberālis, beneficus; also benignus, mūnificus, generōsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.