lagniappe (n.) something extra given at no cost. [From the Spanish " la ñapa" meaning "something extra," which was originally borrowed from Quechuan.] from A Cajun French-English Glossary
presented by the Department of French Studies LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Several years ago, perhaps just after Hurricane Katrina, I heard a woman speaking on NPR about a Cajun word meaning "little blessings". I was intrigued by the word, but could never remember what it was. Several google searches on "cajun + little blessing" later, I gave up. Then a few days ago, I came across a blog entry at Home Sanctuary about a lagniappe (lan-yap), and I think it may be the word I was looking for. What a concept. And so interesting that it came from Quechua to Spanish to Cajun French. love words.
