alms

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   money, food, clothing, or other aid given to poor people as an act of charity

   The monastery distributed alms to families during the winter shortage.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Alms comes from Old English ælmesse, borrowed through Christian Latin eleemosyna from Greek eleēmosunē “compassion,” based on eleos “mercy.” Its final s was part of the original word rather than a plural ending, and the singular phrase “an alms” remained in use until the mid-16th century.

From Old English aelmesse, through Late Latin eleemosyna from Ancient Greek eleemosyne, 'pity, mercy, charity,' based on eleemon, 'merciful.' Despite its final s, alms functions in modern English as a mass noun or a plural-form noun.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary