alms English · revision 801

10 Oct 2026, 23:29 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary, Hoad, MED, Word Origins)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ɑːmz/ ''(UK)''; /ɑmz/, /ɑlmz/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|almes]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[inh|ang|ælmesse]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) an early Germanic borrowing (compare Old Saxon ''alamōsna'', German ''Almosen'', Old Norse ''ǫlmusa'') of Vulgar Latin ''*alemosyna'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) an alteration of Late Latin ''eleēmosyna'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) [[der|grc|ἐλεημοσύνη|tr=eleēmosúnē|t=pity, mercy; charity]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from ''eleḗmōn'' “compassionate”, from ''éleos'' “pity, mercy”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) The Vulgar Latin form was perhaps influenced by ''alimōnia'' “nourishment” (see [[alimony]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ In Old English, charitable relief of the poor, especially as a religious duty (before 810 in Barnhart; before 1000 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The final ''-s'' was not originally a plural ending, and people wrote of “an alms” until the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) From c. 1375 the word could mean a single charitable gift,^(OED 1989) and from 1557 it was treated as a plural, like ''riches''.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The full form ''almes'' was reduced to ''alms'' in the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) It was also used figuratively of any good deed (c. 1430, obsolete),^(OED 1989) and in law of land held in ''frank almoign'' and of a portion of an intestate's estate allotted to the poor.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 810 – Old English ''ælmesse''.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * c. 1375 – a charitable gift.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1430 – a good deed (obsolete).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1557 – treated as plural.^(OED 1989)
+ * 17th century – reduced to ''alms''.^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Money, food or other goods given freely as [[charity]] to the poor.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(archaic)'' Charity; the giving of relief to the poor.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[almsgiver]]
+ * [[almsgiving]]
+ * [[almshouse]]
+ * [[almsman]]
+ * [[almswoman]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[eleemosynary]]
+ * [[almoner]]
+ * [[alimony]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}