mercy

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈmɝsi/ UK /ˈmɜːsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #2093

Meanings

1

noun
Kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you have the power to punish or harm.

The king showed mercy and let the prisoners go free.
2

noun
A willingness to forgive or be kind rather than cruel.

Mercy is one of her many good qualities.
3

noun
A lucky thing that you are grateful for.

It was a mercy that no one was hurt in the crash.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · kindness or forgiveness... compassion pity clemency sympathy

2 noun · a willingness to forgive or... leniencykindness

Word family

Forms mercies

Derived forms bemercygod-a-mercylaws-a-mercy mercifulmercifymercilessmercinessmercy-killingnonmercyunmerciedunmercy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mercy killing
the intentional ending of a life to relieve severe suffering

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Mercy comes from Latin merces, which meant “reward” in classical Latin. In early Christian Latin it developed the senses “heavenly reward,” “pity,” and “favor,” with which the word entered medieval English.

Etymology

From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci.

mercy Middle English merci xno mercēs Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# mercy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɝsi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɜːsi/
**Frequency rank:** 2093

## Meanings
1. Kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you have the power to punish or harm.
2. A willingness to forgive or be kind rather than cruel.
3. A lucky thing that you are grateful for.

## Examples
- The king showed mercy and let the prisoners go free.
- Mercy is one of her many good qualities.
- It was a mercy that no one was hurt in the crash.

## Derived Forms
- bemercy
- god-a-mercy
- laws-a-mercy
- merciful
- mercify
- merciless
- merciness
- mercy-killing
- nonmercy
- unmercied
- unmercy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mercy
- Root: merci
- Root: mercēs

## Etymology
From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci.

## AI Etymology
Mercy comes from Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci. In present-day English its meanings include kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you have the power to punish or harm, a willingness to forgive or be kind rather than cruel, and a lucky thing that you are grateful for. The historical chain runs through mercy (Middle English), merci (Anglo-Norman), and mercēs (Latin). Related and derived forms include bemercy, god-a-mercy, and laws-a-mercy.

## Topics
- People & Society

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