Where does “mercy” come from?

mercy (Middle French) comes from Old French merci, from Latin mercēs, from Latin merx, from Proto-Italic *merks.

mercy (Middle French): mercy relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another

Definitions

  1. mercy relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another

Ancestry of “mercy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmercimercy; clemency
2Latinmercēspay, wages, reward
3Latinmerxmerchandise, commodity; goods, wares
4Proto-Italic*merks—
Every word from Proto-Italic *merks →Every word from Latin merx →Every word from Latin mercēs →