What is "lagniappe"

Lagniappe \La*gniappe\, Lagnappe \La*gnappe"\, n. [Also spelled lagnappe.][Etym. uncertain.]

1. In Louisiana, a trifling present given to customers by tradesmen; a gratuity.

   Lagniappe . . .is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure.
   --Mark Twain.

2. A tip or gratuity.

3. Hence: Anything obtained gratuitously or unexpectedly.

"dividend, something extra," 1849, from New Orleans creole, of unknown origin though much speculated upon. Originally a bit of something given by New Orleans shopkeepers to customers. Said to be from American Spanish la ñapa "the gift." Klein says this is in turn from Quechua yapa "something added, gift."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. [Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi"]

n. (context Louisiana Mississippi Trinidad and Tobago uncommon English) An extra or unexpected gift or benefit, such as that given to a customer when they purchase something else.

n. a small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)

A lagniappe is "a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase" (such as a 13th doughnut on purchase of a dozen), or more broadly, "something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure."

The word entered English from the Louisiana French adapting a Quechua word brought in to New Orleans by the Spanish Creoles. It derived from the South American Spanish phrase la yapa or ñapa (referring to a free extra item, usually a very cheap one). La is the definite article in Spanish as well as in French (la ñapa or la gniappe = the ñapa/gniappe). The term has been traced back to the Quechua word yapay ('to increase; to add'). In Andean markets it is still customary to ask for a yapa (translates as "a little extra") when making a purchase. The seller usually responds by throwing in a little extra.

Although this is an old custom, it is still widely practiced in Louisiana. Street vendors, especially vegetable vendors, are expected to throw in a few green chili peppers or a small bunch of cilantro with a purchase. The word is chiefly used in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, but the concept is practiced in many places, such as the Spanish-speaking world, Southeast Asia, North Africa, rural France, Australia, Holland, and Switzerland.

Lagniappe is a compilation album put together by Omaha record label Saddle Creek, after the events of Hurricane Katrina. It is a benefit album, and all profits from its sale are donated to the Red Cross' relief efforts in New Orleans.

The album is composed of mostly impromptu recordings, thrown together for this explicit purpose. The Saddle Creek web site explains it as follows:

Old favorites, new faces, and friends of Saddle Creek recorded these 13 tracks in bedrooms, basements, kitchens, living rooms, and even in a couple of studios. The album was put together in one week. It's a menagerie of mostly new songs, a few tracks that should have made it onto albums but for whatever reason didn't, a couple of B-sides, a demo song - whatever people could contribute.

Most of the currently active bands on the label contributed a track, including Saddle Creek's most popular bands ( The Faint, Bright Eyes) and also some newer additions to the label ( Two Gallants, for example).

Lagniappe - "Something Extra for Mobile" - is a weekly alternative newspaper published in Mobile, Alabama. Lagniappe was first published bi-weekly on July 24, 2002 under the guidance of co-publishers Ashley Toland and Rob Holbert, who now serve as editor and managing editor respectively. Beginning April 2014, Lagniappe is published weekly. Since 2004, the Mobile Press Club has honored Lagniappe for its reporting and features.

Regular sections in Lagniappe are news, commentary, cuisine, music, style, arts, and sports.

Since 2003, Lagniappe has sponsored and hosted the annual "Nappie Awards", where favorite local people, places, and things are chosen by readers' votes.

A lagniappe a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase.

Langniappe may also refer to:

• Lagniappe (newspaper), an alternative newspaper in Mobile, Alabama
• Lagniappe (album), a Hurricane Katrina benefit album by Saddle Creek records
• Procambarus lagniappe, a species of crayfish
• Lagniappe (yearbook), the student yearbook at Louisiana Tech
• "Lagniappe", a song by Michelle Shocked from the 2003 re-release of The Texas Campfire Tapes
• Lagniappe Films, an American production company
• Lagniappe for piano, a 1985 composition by Milton Babbitt
• Lagniappe Dulcimer Fete, an annual festival in Port Allen, Louisiana

Lagniappe is Louisiana Tech's official student yearbook. The Lagniappe, which literally means "something extra" was first published in 1905 and has been published every year since except for 1913–1921 and 1926. The yearbook's annual release date is around the last week of the regular school year in the middle of May. The Lagniappe was recognized in May 2011 as "First Class" by the Associated Collegiate Press and as one of the top 2 percent of high school and collegiate yearbooks by Balfour Publishing's "The Yearbook's Yearbook". Mary May Brown, the recently retired faculty adviser of the Lagniappe for 23 years was named the Collegiate Publications Adviser of the Year by the Louisiana Press Women in 2011.