- lady bountiful
- noun
(plural lady bountifuls or ladies bountiful)
Usage: often capitalized L&BEtymology: after Lady Bountiful, character in The Beaux' Stratagem (1707), play by George Farquhar died 1707 British dramatist born in Ireland: a woman notable for or conspicuous in her benevolences
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pl. Lady Bountifuls, Ladies Bountiful.1. a wealthy lady in George Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem, noted for her kindness and generosity.2. (sometimes l.c.) a woman of noteworthy generosity or charity.* * *
Lady Bountiful1. The charitable great lady of a district2. An ironic name for a patronizingly generous female do-gooder• • •Main Entry: ↑bounty————————Lady Bountiful noun (also without caps; often derogatory)A rich and generous woman, often applied to one who is ostentatiously or offensively so (from a character in Farquhar's The Beaux’ Stratagem)• • •Main Entry: ↑lady* * *
Lady Bountiful,a kind and gracious, usually well-to-do, woman.╂[< Lady Bountiful, a character in George Farquhar's play The Beaux' Stratagem]* * *
a woman who engages in ostentatious acts of charity, more to impress others than out of a sense of concern for those in needOrigin:early 19th cent.: from the name of a character in Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem (1707)* * *
a woman, especially an upper-class woman, who likes to appear generous with her money or time. The name comes from a character in the play The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707) by the Irish writer George Farquhar (1678–1707)•
She likes to help out at the school and play Lady Bountiful.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.