lavish

English

WOTD – 14 February 2007

Alternative forms

• lavis, laves, lavas (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English laves, lavas, lavage (“extravagant, wasteful, prodigal”), from lavas (“excessive abundance”), from Old French lavasse, lavache (“torrent of rain”); possibly later conflated in some senses by Middle English laven (“to pour out”), equivalent to lave +‎ -ish. Compare Scots lawage, lavisch, lavish (“unrestrained, excessively prodigal, extravagant”). Compare also English lavy (“lavish, liberal”), Dutch lafenis (“lavishness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlævɪʃ/

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• Rhymes: -ævɪʃ

Adjective

lavish (comparative lavisher or more lavish, superlative lavishest or most lavish)

1. Expending or bestowing profusely; profuse; prodigal.

   lavish of money;   lavish of praise

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: […] .

   • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

     Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.

2. Superabundant; excessive.

   lavish spirits

   lavish meal

   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Let her haue needfull, but not lauish meanes

3. (obsolete) Unrestrained, impetuous.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

     Thou wilt repent theſe lauiſh words of thine

4. (chiefly dialectal) Rank or lush with vegetation.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXIII, page 39:

     […] Thro’ lands where not a leaf was dumb;
     ⁠But all the lavish hills would hum
     The murmur of a happy Pan: […]

Synonyms

• (expending profusely): profuse, prodigal, wasteful, extravagant, exuberant, immoderate, opulent
• See also Thesaurus:prodigal

Related terms

• lavy

Translations

profuse

• Armenian: շռայլ (hy) (šṙayl)
• Bulgarian: обилен (bg) (obilen)
• Finnish: tuhlaavainen, avokätinen (fi)
• French: somptueux (fr), prodigue (fr), abondant (fr)
• Galician: xeneroso m
• German: freigiebig (de), verschwenderisch (de)
• Greek: άφθονος (el) m (áfthonos), αφειδής (el) m (afeidís)
• Hungarian: pazar (hu), pazarló (hu), bőséges (hu), dús (hu), (of vegetation) buja (hu)
• Irish: scaoilteach, flaithiúil, flaithiúlach
• Italian: prodigo (it), profuso (it), generoso (it)
• Kazakh: береген (beregen)
• Latin: prōfusus
• Macedonian: изо́билен (izóbilen), о́билен (óbilen), да́режлив (dárežliv)
• Maori: tōtōā, whiuwhiu
• Polish: hojny (pl) m
• Portuguese: pródigo (pt) m, perdulário (pt) m, profuso m, esbanjador (pt) m, dissipador (pt) m
• Romanian: generos (ro), abundent (ro), opulent (ro), exuberant (ro), extravagant (ro)
• Russian: ще́дрый (ru) m (ščédryj)
• Spanish: generoso (es), pródigo (es), dadivoso (es), derrochador (es), exuberante (es)
• Swedish: påkostad (sv)

excessive

• Bulgarian: разточителен (bg) (raztočitelen)
• Finnish: ylenpalttinen (fi)
• Galician: excesivo m
• German: überreich (de), üppig (de)
• Greek: πληθωρικός (el) m (plithorikós), υπεράφθονος (el) m (yperáfthonos)
• Hungarian: túlzott (hu), túláradó (hu), túltengő (hu)
• Italian: eccessivo (it), smodato (it), sovrabbondante (it)
• Latin: profūsus
• Macedonian: неу́мерен (neúmeren)
• Maori: tuhene
• Polish: nadmierny (pl) m, obfity (pl) m
• Russian: чрезмерный (ru) m (črezmernyj), неумеренный (ru) m (neumerennyj)
• Spanish: excesivo (es), incontrolado (es), superabundante (es), sobrado (es)
• Swedish: riklig (sv), (colloquial) flådig (sv)
• Turkish: abartılı (tr)

Verb

lavish (third-person singular simple present lavishes, present participle lavishing, simple past and past participle lavished)

1. (transitive) To give out extremely generously; to squander.

   They lavished money on the dinner.

2. (transitive) To give out to (somebody) extremely generously.

   They lavished him with praise.

Derived terms

• lavisher
• lavishly
• lavishment
• lavishness

Translations

to expend or bestow with profusion; to squander

• Bulgarian: прахосвам (bg) (prahosvam), разхищавам (bg) (razhištavam)
• Finnish: tuhlata (fi), (rahaa) syytää (fi)
• German: verschleudern (de), verprassen (de)
• Greek: επιδαψιλεύω (el) (epidapsilévo)
• Hungarian: pazarol (hu), tékozol (hu), szór (hu)
• Italian: prodigare (it), profondere (it), spendere profusamente
• Latin: dīlargior
• Macedonian: се ра́сфрли (se rásfrli), ра́сфрли (rásfrli)
• Maori: tōtōa, nihowera (Referes specifically to food)
• Persian: بریز و بپاش کردن (beriz-o-bepâš kardan)
• Polish: obdarowywać (pl)
• Portuguese: esbanjar (pt)
• Russian: расточать (ru) (rastočatʹ), транжирить (ru) impf (tranžiritʹ)
• Spanish: derrochar (es), despilfarrar (es), prodigar (es)
• Swedish: slösa (sv), överösa (sv)

to give out to (somebody) extremely generously

• Bulgarian: раздавам щедро (razdavam štedro)
• Dutch: overladen (met)
• German: überhäufen, überschütten (de)
• Hungarian: elhalmoz (hu)
• Maori: ohaoha, marere
• Sanskrit: पृणक्ति (pṛṇakti)

Noun

lavish (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) Excessive abundance or expenditure, profusion, prodigality.

Anagrams

• Vishal