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Glite Dictionary
ex gratia

ex gratia

9.8
People give money or help as a favor, not because the law requires it
  • adverb
  • /ɛks ˈɡreɪʃə/
  • Formal
translation icon : ex gratia
  • The company offered an ex gratia payment to the injured worker, even though they were not legally liable.

Examples

  • The government made an ex gratia donation to families affected by the disaster.

  • She received an ex gratia sum for her medical expenses.

  • After the delay, passengers received ex gratia compensation from the airline.

  • The company offered an ex gratia payment to affected employees.

  • After the delay, passengers received ex gratia compensation from the airline.

  • The company offered an ex gratia payment to the injured worker, even though they were not legally liable.

  • The government made an ex gratia donation to families affected by the disaster.

Synonyms

honorarium
vsex gratia
  • Formal
3 8.7

A small payment given for a talk or other service when no set fee exists

is given generally as a favor from goodwill not limited to services

Surface Forms

ex gratia positive

Morphology

ex + gratia

This is a fixed Latin legal/financial formula whose constituents ('ex' and 'gratia') are not productive English words in normal usage and are listed as not found in the dictionary. The meaning ‘a voluntary payment made as a favor, not from obligation’ is a specialized legal sense that cannot be reliably derived by a B1 learner from the literal Latin elements, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Ex gratia comes from Latin: ex means 'from' and gratia means 'favour' or 'grace'. That's why an ex gratia payment is given 'as a favour' and not because someone must pay by law.