ἐλεημοσύνη

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /e.le.ɛː.mo.sý.nɛː/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /e.le.i.moˈsy.ni/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /e.le.i.moˈsy.ni/^[1]

Forms

ἐλεημοσῠ́νη (eleēmosúnē) f (genitive ἐλεημοσῠ́νης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is derived from ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn, “merciful, pitiful”) with the suffix -σύνη (-súnē).^[1][2] Ἐλεήμων is from ἔλεος (éleos, “pity”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Callimachus' Hymn to Delos uses it for an act of compassion.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Chrysippus counts it among the soul's inclinations, and a papyrus has a plea “that we may obtain mercy”.^[4] In the Septuagint it means pity and mercy and, in Tobit and Sirach, charitable giving, alms.^[5][3] In the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew, it is almsgiving.^[3][6] Diogenes Laertius uses it for alms too.^[6]

Latin borrowed it as eleēmosyna, the source of English alms.^[1] Modern Greek ελεημοσύνη (eleimosýni) is a small gift to the poor, and in theology charity as a religious act.^[7]

Timeline

• 4th–3rd century BC – Callimachus uses it for compassion.^[4][2]
• 3rd century BC – Chrysippus uses it for an inclination of the soul.^[4]
• 3rd–1st century BC – The Septuagint uses it for mercy and for alms.^[5]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Matthew uses it for almsgiving.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. pity, compassion, mercy.^[2][6]
2. An act of kindness.^[2]
3. alms, charity.^[6][3]

Related words

• ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn)
• ἔλεος (éleos)
• Latin eleemosyna
• English alms

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
4. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
6. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki