alimony English · revision 1935

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/ ''(UK)''; /ˈæl.ə.moʊ.ni/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|alimonia|t=nourishment, sustenance]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''alere'' “to nourish”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and the suffix ''-monia'', which signifies an action or state.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It is related to [[aliment]].^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nourishment; the means of living, maintenance (1656);^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) at about the same time (1655) also the allowance a wife could claim from her husband's estate on legal separation.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Both senses appear in the 1650s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The general sense of sustenance is now rare,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) while the legal sense became the main one: an allowance for support paid under court order to a divorced or separated spouse.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The blend [[palimony]], for support paid to a former unmarried partner, was coined in 1979.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1645–55 – Random House's dating.^(RHWU)

+ * 1655 – a wife's allowance on separation (OED, Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1656 – nourishment, maintenance.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1979 – ''palimony'' coined.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(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.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The means of living; [[maintenance]] or [[sustenance]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[alimonied]]

+ * [[palimony]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aliment]]

+ * [[alimentary]]

+ * [[alumnus]]

+ * [[adolescent]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the United States the word is sometimes avoided in favour of terms such as ''spousal support''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}