Gratuity, Gratuitous

“I feel often that we don’t have the right language to talk about emotions in disasters. Everyone is on edge, of course, but it also pulls people away from a lot trivial anxieties and past and future concerns and gratuitous preoccupations that we have, and refocuses us in a very intense way.” –Rebecca Solnit

Gratuity is a tip you give to a waiter in a restaurant if you are served well, and if you are happy; gratuity is the tip you give to someone as an extra money for the service rendered to you and you are happy with that service. There are various merits and demerits (S/He is doing the job, why should I pay extra money) in giving a gratuity to a waiter, a porter, a cab driver. A tip or a gratuity payment is made by the customer, a volunatary payment above the normal amount of the bill.

Gratuity is a reward.
Gratuity is baksheesh.
Gratuity is a bonus (such as given to the government servants by the respective state governments and the Central government in India); fringe benefit, perk, giftl benefaction, largesse, sweetener (financial), contribution made by someone or by an authority to the employees; perquisite, salve; token of regard.

Employees who work for an employer (private or public) for certain number of years are usually entitled for a gratuity when he or she resigns, or retires, or incapacitated, or retrenched. If you want to calculate how much gratuity you may get, there are online gratuity calculators!

Gratuity is a noun, and its plural form is gratuities. It is derived from the Medieval Latin word ‘gratuitas meaning gift. It also denoted graciousness. Gratuitous means uncalled for; not called for in the circumstance; unwarranted. People display gratuitous (not necessary) insolence towards others.

Often there are gratuitous scenes in movies such as nudity, violence, fighting… Ironically, some movies with gratuitous violence is widely watched! Gratuitous has another meaning which means something done with a good reason; something given or donefor free of cost, for free of charge; not involving a return benefit; not involving compensation; not involving consideration; costing nothing:

Have you come across lawyers who give gratuitous advice?
Gratuitous is an adjective, and its variants are gratuitously (adverb) and gratuitousness (noun). There are etailers (online retail shops) which promise a gratuitous gift, but there are no gratuitous (costing nothing to the customer) gifts from the sellers like there are no free lunches in politics.

However, the world is still a better place here and there for there are people who do gratuitous (good) deeds.
-Kovuuri G Reddy