eleemosyna

Forms

eleēmosyna f (genitive eleēmosynae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosúnē, “pity, mercy; alms”),^[2][3][4] from ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn, “compassionate”), from ἔλεος (éleos, “pity, mercy”).^[5][4] The further origin of the Greek noun is unknown.^[4]

The oldest and best manuscripts, and inscriptions from the 5th and 6th centuries, have the spelling ⟨elemosina⟩; later manuscripts and editors prefer ⟨eleemosyna⟩.^[6] A spoken form *alemosyna is the source of Old French almosne, Italian limosina and, through Proto-Germanic, of Old English ælmesse, English alms.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a word of the Church, found from the Old Latin Bible and Tertullian (c. 160–220) on,^[6][5] in the sense of alms.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Augustine explains that it is Greek for misericordia,^[6] and Isidore of Seville also gives a Latin rendering of the Greek word.^[6] Christian writers devoted whole works to it, such as Cyprian's treatise on good works and almsgiving.^[6] It is used in both singular and plural.^[6][7]

In Medieval Latin it kept the senses of mercy and pity and of alms, and was extended to any act of mercy or piety that served the salvation of the soul,^[8] and to an almshouse.^[1] In the law codes of the early Middle Ages it is a regular word for alms,^[5] and in Catalan charters for a pious gift to a religious house.^[9] Thomas Aquinas defined it as a work by which something is given to the needy out of compassion, for the sake of God, and noted that the name comes from Greek ἔλεος.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 – Tertullian uses it for alms.^[2][5]
• 354–430 – Augustine explains it as the Greek for misericordia.^[6][5]
• 390–406 – The Vulgate uses it in the Sermon on the Mount.^[2][5]
• 6th century – Christian inscriptions spell it elemosina.^[6]
• 1610s – Its derivative eleēmosynārius gives English eleemosynary.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) alms, a charitable gift.^[2][3][11]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) mercy, pity.^[8][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) Any act of mercy or piety that serves the salvation of the soul.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin) An almshouse.^[1]

Word family

• eleēmosynārius

Related words

• English alms
• English eleemosynary

Usage notes

Variant spellings include elēmosina, elēmosyna, elīmosyna and aelēmosina.^[1][6] An ancient glossary rejects elymosina and recommends elemosyna with ⟨e⟩, because the word comes from Greek ἔλεος.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
10. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson