Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bounty \Boun"ty\, n.; pl. {Bounties}. [OE. bounte goodness,
   kindness, F. bont['e], 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 : WordNet®

bounty
     n 1: payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts
          such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals
          or enlisting in the military [syn: {premium}]
     2: the property of copious abundance [syn: {amplitude}, {bountifulness}]
     3: generosity evidenced by a willingness to give freely [syn: {bounteousness}]
     4: a ship of the British navy; in 1789 part of the crew
        mutineed against their commander William Bligh and set him
        afloat in an open boat [syn: {H.M.S. Bounty}]