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lagniappe n

Usu |ˈlænˌjæp|; also |ˌlænˈjæp|
Pronc-spp lagnappe, laniappe, lan(ny)-yap, lanyope; abbr nap; for addit pronc and sp varr see quots[See quot 1931]chiefly Gulf States, esp Louisiana See Map and Map Section
Cf boot n1 1a, broadus

A small gratuity or bonus included with a purchase; by ext, anything extra thrown in for good measure.

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  • 1849 Knickerbocker 34.407, Ime sum pumpkins in that line; but he’s a huckleberry above my persimmon, and right smart lanyope too, as them creole darkies say.
  • 1853 Hammett Stray Yankee in TX 47, When he lost [at poker], if the money were not absolutely staked, he would usually put off the winner with . . a dubious note that he had received as “lanyappe,” (Anglice, boot money.)
  • 1883 Twain Life on Missip. (Boston) 450 LA, We picked up one excellent word—a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word—“Lagniappe.” They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish—so they said. . . It is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure.
  • 1884 Cable Creoles of LA 114, Ñapa—the petty gratuity added, by the retailer, to anything bought . . [was] drawn out into Gallicized lagnappe.
  • 1892 KS Univ. Qrly. 1.97 LA, Lagniap.
  • 1893 Harper’s New Mth. Mag. 86.380 New Orleans LA, “Take that for a lagniappe” (pronounced lan-yap), says a storekeeper as he folds a pretty calendar into the bundle of stationery you have purchased.
  • 1897 Lewis Wolfville 267 AZ, She’d swap the whole Mexican outfit for a word from Mace, an’ throw herse’f in for laniyap.
  • 1903 Murrie White Castle LA 256, Little Liza received a banana for “laniappe.”
  • 1909 DN 3.351 sAL, Nap. . . Something given as a gratuity to a purchaser. Used in and around Mobile in south Alabama. Compare lagniappe in the same sense in Louisiana.
  • [1931 Read LA French 142, Lagniappe. . . A trifling gift presented to a customer by a merchant, or, by extension, any kind of gratuity that may be regarded as thrown in for good measure. . . Lagniappe is composed of the French la, “the,” and a French adaptation of Spanish ñapa, which is taken in turn from Kechuan yapa, “a present made to a customer.”]
  • 1954 Armstrong Satchmo 178 New Orleans LA, For every name she called me I called her the same, and I hit her with a few real hard ones for lagniappe.
  • 1961 PADS 36.12 sLA, Lagniappe [appears] as [lɑˈŋɑp], [lænˈjæp], and [ˈlænˌjæp]—there is even a taped occurrence of [ˌlɑnˈjæp].
  • 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 68, In the Southwest, the West, and part of Central Texas pilón . . is very well known and widely used. . . The Louisiana word lagniappe has invaded Southeast Texas, particularly the Beaumont and Galveston areas.
  • 1965–70 DARE
    Qu. U15, When you’re buying something, if the seller puts in a little extra to make you feel that you’re getting a good bargain
    12 Infs, esp LA, MS, TX, [ˈlænˌjæ(ə)p]; FL17, LA14, 15, 20, 31, [ˌlænˈjæp]; LA33, 37, [ˌlɑnˈjɑp]; CA15, [ˈlɑnˌjeɪp]; CA185, [ˈlɔnˌjɑp]; LA25, [ˈlɑnˌjæp]; LA28, [ˈlænjᵻˌnæp]; LA40, [ˌlæniˈæp]; MS12, [ˈlæniˌæp]; MS73, [ˈlænˌjəᴜp]; [TN11, It’s not lagniappe, that’s New Orleans].
  • 1983 Reinecke Coll. 7 LA, Lagniappe—[ˈlɑnjɑp] or [ˈlænjæp] or [lanˈjɑp] a bonus expected by the purchaser and given by storekeeper. The expectation no longer exists, but still often used for promotion extras or anything thrown in.
  • 1990 Pederson LAGS Regional Matrix 467, [Lagniappe—something extra, chiefly wLA, sMS, swAL; less freq eTX.]
lagniappe (Qu. U15)
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