mercy

mercy
\ \ [12] Latin mercēs meant ‘payment, reward’. In the Christian era the notion of a ‘reward’ was taken up and reapplied metaphorically to the ‘compassion given freely by God to humankind’, and the word passed into Old French (in the form merci) with the broader sense ‘compassion’, and hence ‘forbearance from punishment’. English took it over and has continued to use it in much the same way, but its main role in modern French is as the word for ‘thank you’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Mercy — (engl: Gnade, Mitleid, Barmherzigkeit) bezeichnet: Personen: Claudius Florimund Mercy (1666–1734), kaiserlicher Feldmarschall Dominique Mercy (* 1950), französischer Tänzer und Choreograf Eugéne Guillaume Alexis, Graf von Mercy Argenteau (1743… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • MERCY — (Heb. רַחֲמִים), a feeling of compassion tempered with love, which engenders forgiveness and forbearance in man and which stimulates him to deeds of charity and kindness. This quality, inherent in man s attitude toward his loved ones, is an… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • mercy — [mʉr′sē] n. pl. mercies [OFr merci < L merces, hire, payment, reward (in LL, mercy, pity, favor) < merx, wares: see MARKET] 1. a refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, persons in one s power, etc.; kindness in excess of… …   English World dictionary

  • Mercy — Mer cy (m[ e]r s[y^]), n.; pl. {Mercies}. [OE. merci, F. merci, L. merces, mercedis, hire, pay, reward, LL., equiv. to misericordia pity, mercy. L. merces is probably akin to merere to deserve, acquire. See {Merit}, and cf. {Amerce}.] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mercy —   [mɛr si],    1) Anton Graf Mercy d Argenteau [ darʒã to], österreichischer Feldmarschall, * Lothringen 20. 11. 1692, ✝ Osijek 22. 1. 1767, Neffe und Adoptivsohn von 2); kämpfte im Türkenkrieg 1737 39 und im Österreichen Erbfolgekrieg (1740/1741 …   Universal-Lexikon

  • mercy — mercy, charity, grace, clemency, lenity are comparable when meaning the disposition to show compassion or kindness in one s treatment of others, especially of those who offend one and who are in one s power to punish or rebuke. Mercy implies… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • mercy — ► NOUN (pl. mercies) 1) compassion or forgiveness shown towards an enemy or offender in one s power. 2) something to be grateful for. 3) (before another noun ) motivated by compassion: a mercy killing. ► EXCLAMATION archaic ▪ used to express… …   English terms dictionary

  • mercy — index benevolence (disposition to do good), clemency, condonation, consideration (sympathetic regard), humanity (humaneness), lenience, pity …   Law dictionary

  • Mercy — f English: 1 From the vocabulary word denoting the quality of magnanimity, and in particular God s forgiveness of sinners, a quality much prized in Christian tradition. The word is derived from Latin mercēs, which originally meant ‘wages’ or… …   First names dictionary

  • mercy — (n.) late 12c., God s forgiveness of his creatures offenses, from O.Fr. mercit, merci (9c.) reward, gift; kindness, grace, pity, from L. mercedem (nom. merces) reward, wages, pay hire (in V.L. favor, pity ), from merx (gen. mercis) wares,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Mercy — Mercy, 1) Franz v. M., geb. in Longwy in Lothringen, trat in baierische Dienste u. stieg bald zum General; er befehligte 1640 u. 41 ein liguistisches Corps am Niederrhein, wurde bei Kempten 1642 geschlagen u. nebst Lamboi gefangen, aber bald… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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