Where does “alimony” come from?

Alimony comes from Latin alimonia, derived from the root alō meaning to nourish, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂el-.

alimony (English): A court-mandated allowance made to a former...

Definitions

  1. A court-mandated allowance made to a former...

Ancestry of “alimony”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinalimōniafood, nourishment
2Latin-moniaForms abstract nouns from adjectives and possibly...
3Latin-moniumForms collective nouns and nouns designating...
4Proto-Indo-European-monyom
5Proto-Indo-European-mōCreates agent nouns from verbs

Words derived from “alimony

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mō
alimony — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer