magnanimity

English

Etymology

From Middle French magnanimité, from Old French [Term?], from Latin magnanimitās.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˌmæɡnəˈnɪmɪti/

Noun

magnanimity (countable and uncountable, plural magnanimities)

  1. The quality of being magnanimous; greatness of mind; elevation or dignity of soul.
    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 206:
      ...and thirdly, I have I behaved exceedingly ill to you, and, consequently, feel it quite magnanimous not to hate you, which is the established rule on such occasions."
      "Pray, continue your magnanimity."
    • 2005 [1868–9], Anthony Briggs, transl., War and Peace, Penguin Classics, translation of Война́ и миръ by Leo Tolstoy, Volume I, Part 1, Chapter 4, page 15:
      The duke had not taken advantage of this, but Bonaparte had later rewarded his magnanimity by having him put to death.
  2. That quality or combination of qualities, in character, which enables one to encounter danger and trouble with tranquility and firmness, to disdain injustice, meanness and revenge, and to act and sacrifice for noble objectives.

Synonyms

Translations

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “magnanimity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

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