lagniappe
/lænˈjæp/
Etymology
Borrowed from Louisiana French lagniappe, from Spanish la ñapa, a variant of yapa (“small gift or additional quantity given to a valued customer”), from Quechua yapa (“addition, increase, supplement; lagniappe”), yapay (“to add, to increase”).
lagniappe means an extra or unexpected gift or benefit, such as that given to customers when they purchase something. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
lagniappe is pronounced /lænˈjæp/.
Why “lagniappe” is a great word
LAGNIAPPE — [Noun] A small, complimentary extra gift given by a merchant to a customer at the time of a purchase. From Louisiana French lagniappe, from American Spanish la ñapa or la yapa ("the little extra"), from Quechua yapa ("addition, increase, supplement"). First attested in English in 1844. Unlike a "bonus," which implies a standardized or contractual addition, or a "perquisite," which is a formal privilege of position, a lagniappe is a spontaneous, personal gesture of goodwill. It is the thirteenth doughnut in the baker's dozen, the sprig of parsley tucked beside the fish, the handful of nails added after weighing your purchase—a minor surplus that transforms a measured exchange into a fleeting human connection.
noun
- An extra or unexpected gift or benefit, such as that given to customers when they purchase something.“Lefe had been successful, and was supposed to have amassed quite a "pile," which he was very loth indeed to part with; and when he lost, if the money were not absolutely staked, would usually put off the winner with some old horse that he had fixed up for sale, or a dubious note that he had received as "lanyappe," (Anglice, boot money.)”