Where does “almsgiving” come from?
Almsgiving comes from English giving, from English give, from Old Norse gefa, from Proto-Germanic gebaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰebʰ-, meaning to give or hand over.
almsgiving (English): The act of voluntarily giving alms, of making...
Definitions
- The act of voluntarily giving alms, of making...
Ancestry of “almsgiving”, step by step
almsgiving traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English giving
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | giving | present participle of give; having the tendency... |
| 2 | English | give | To move, shift, provide something abstract or... |
| 3 | English | foregive | To give ahead of time; give in advance |
| 4 | English | fore- | Positioned at or near the front; Before; ahead or... |
| 5 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 6 | German | Fahr | — |
| 7 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 8 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 9 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 10 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English alms
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | alms | Something given to the poor as charity, such as... |
| 2 | French | aumône | alms; a small, insulting sum of money |
| 3 | Old French | almosne | alms |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | alemosyna | alms |
| 5 | Latin | eleēmosyna | alms |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεημοσύνη | pity, mercy; alms, charity |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεήμων | pitiful, merciful |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεέω | I have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |