la·gniappe
( P ) Pronunciation Key (ln-yp, lnyp) n.
Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
[Louisiana French,
from American Spanish la ñapa, the gift : la, the (from
Latin illa, feminine of ille, that, the.
See al-1 in Indo-European
Roots) + ñapa(variant of yapa, gift, from Quechua, from yapay,
to
give more).]
1. An extra or
unexpected gift or benefit.
"Lagniappe . .
.is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure." --Mark Twain.
The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000
by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
All rights reserved.