Etymologically
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alimony

Etymology and origin of the English word alimony

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Latin alimonia

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/ (UK); /ˈæl.ə.moʊ.ni/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin alimonia (“nourishment, sustenance”),[2][3][4][5][6] from alere “to nourish”[2][3][4][5] and the suffix -monia, which signifies an action or state.[3][4][6] It is related to aliment.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nourishment; the means of living, maintenance (1656);[7][5] at about the same time (1655) also the allowance a wife could claim from her husband's estate on legal separation.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

Both senses appear in the 1650s.[4][7] The general sense of sustenance is now rare,[2][5][6] while the legal sense became the main one: an allowance for support paid under court order to a divorced or separated spouse.[2][5][6] The blend palimony, for support paid to a former unmarried partner, was coined in 1979.[4]

Timeline

  • 1645–55 – Random House's dating.[6]
  • 1655 – a wife's allowance on separation (OED, Barnhart).[7][3]
  • 1656 – nourishment, maintenance.[7][5]
  • 1979 – palimony coined.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (law) An allowance for support paid under court order by one spouse or former spouse to the other, after divorce or legal separation or while the case is pending.
  2. The means of living; maintenance or sustenance.

Word family

  • alimonied
  • palimony
  • aliment
  • alimentary
  • alumnus
  • adolescent

Usage notes

In the United States the word is sometimes avoided in favour of terms such as spousal support.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Alimony.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/alimony. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·