BOUNTY
Bounty, H.M.S. Bounty
(noun) a ship of the British navy; in 1789 part of the crew mutinied against their commander William Bligh and set him afloat in an open boat
bounty, bounteousness
(noun) generosity evidenced by a willingness to give freely
amplitude, bountifulness, bounty
(noun) the property of copious abundance
bounty, premium
(noun) payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
bounty (countable and uncountable, plural bounties)
(uncountable) Generosity; also (countable) an act of generosity.
Synonyms: liberality, munificence, bounteousness, bountihood (all uncountable; the last obsolete)
Antonyms: frugality, parsimony, sparingness, stinginess (all uncountable)
(countable) Something given liberally; a gift.
Synonyms: boon, gratuity
(countable) A reward for some specific act, especially one given by an authority or a government.
(specifically) A monetary reward for capturing (or, in the past, killing) a person accused or convicted of a crime and who is at large; also, a similar reward for capturing or killing an animal which is dangerous or causing a nuisance.
(military, historical) Money paid to a person when becoming a member of the armed forces, or as a reward for some service therein.
(countable, figuratively) An abundance or wealth.
Source: Wiktionary
Boun"ty, n.; pl. Bounties. Etym: [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F.
bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr.
duvas honor, respect.]
1. Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [Obs.]
Nature set in her at once beauty with bounty. Gower.
2. Liberality in bestowing gifts or favors; gracious or liberal
giving; generosity; munificence.
My bounty is as boundless as the sea. Shak.
3. That which is given generously or liberally. "Thy morning
bounties." Cowper.
4. A premium offered or given to induce men to enlist into the public
service; or to encourage any branch of industry, as husbandry or
manufactures. Bounty jumper, one who, during the latter part of the
Civil War, enlisted in the United States service, and deserted as
soon as possible after receiving the bounty. [Collog.] -- Queen
Anne's bounty (Eng. Hist.), a provision made in Queen Anne's reign
for augmenting poor clerical livings.
Syn.
– Munificence; generosity; beneficence.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition