Magnanimous means generous and forgiving, especially towards a rival. A magnanimous gesture, magnanimous in victory, magnanimous towards the loser.
Magnanimous in victory is the fixed phrase, and it means not rubbing it in. The Latin behind it is great-souled, which is exactly what the word still claims about the person doing it.
1adjectivemagnanimousGenerous and forgiving, especially towards a rival.
“The winner was magnanimous, praising his opponent's courage.”
magnanimous is a quality.
The Latin parts are large and soul. A magnanimous person has a soul large enough to forgive somebody who beat them.
hooks ontosoul
Latin magnanimus joins magnus, great, and animus, soul or mind.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂enh₁-
Latin
magnanimus
English, today
magnanimous
Built from
From Latin magnanimus, from magnus (“great”) + animus (“soul, mind”). Displaced native miċelmōd.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA