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lagniappe - n., a small gift given to a customer with a purchase (chiefly S. Louisiana); extra or unexpected gift or benefit.
Pronounced lan-yap -- I've always heard it with the stress on the second syllable, but dictionaries are giving first as the primary pronunciation. Entered American English usage in the 1840s, from Louisiana French, from American Spanish la ñapa, the gift, from Quechua yapa, something added, from yapay, to give more. That's right, an Incan word refracted through displaced Acadians. Gotta watch out for those Cajuns.
---L.
Pronounced lan-yap -- I've always heard it with the stress on the second syllable, but dictionaries are giving first as the primary pronunciation. Entered American English usage in the 1840s, from Louisiana French, from American Spanish la ñapa, the gift, from Quechua yapa, something added, from yapay, to give more. That's right, an Incan word refracted through displaced Acadians. Gotta watch out for those Cajuns.
---L.
