Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “eleemosynous” come from?

eleemosynous (English) comes from Latin eleēmosyna, from Ancient Greek ἐλεημοσύνη, from Ancient Greek ἐλεήμων, from Ancient Greek ἐλεέω, from Ancient Greek -έω, from Proto-Indo-European -éyeti, from Proto-Indo-European -yeti — Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots.

eleemosynous (English): Of a gift or donation: made as an act of charity...

Definitions

  1. Of a gift or donation: made as an act of charity...

Ancestry of “eleemosynous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latineleēmosyna—
2Ancient Greekἐλεημοσύνηpity, mercy; alms, charity
3Ancient Greekἐλεήμωνpitiful, merciful
4Ancient GreekἐλεέωI have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to
5Ancient Greek-έωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
6Proto-Indo-European-éyetiForms causative imperfective verbs from roots;...
7Proto-Indo-European-yetiCreates transitive imperfective verbs from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yeti →