Where does “almoner” come from?
Almoner comes from Old English aumener, from Old French almosnier, from Latin eleemosynarius, derived from Latin eleemosyna meaning alms, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἔλεος meaning pity or mercy.
almoner (English): one who distributes alms, especially the doles...
Definitions
- one who distributes alms, especially the doles...
Ancestry of “almoner”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | aumener | — |
| 2 | Old French | almosnier | — |
| 3 | Latin | eleemosynarius | alms dispenser |
| 4 | Latin | eleēmosyna | alms |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεημοσύνη | pity, mercy; alms, charity |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεήμων | pitiful, merciful |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεέω | I have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |