mercy

mercy
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, merchandise" (see MARKET (Cf. market) (n.)). In Church Latin (6c.) applied to the heavenly reward of those who show kindness to the helpless.
Meaning "disposition to forgive or show compassion" is attested from early 13c. As an interjection, attested from mid-13c. In French largely superseded by miséricorde except as a word of thanks. Seat of mercy "golden covering of the Ark of the Covenant" (1530) is Tyndale's loan-translation of Luther's gnadenstuhl, an inexact rendering of Hebrew kapporeth, lit. "propitiatory."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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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 — 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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