- mercy
- late 12c., "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses," from O.Fr. mercit, merci "reward, gift, kindness," from L. mercedem (nom. merces) "reward, wages, hire" (in V.L. "favor, pity"), from merx (gen. mercis) "wares, merchandise." In Church L. (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 In French largely superseded by miséricorde except as a word of thanks.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 Heb. kapporeth, lit. "propitiatory."
- Miserere
- 51st Psalm (one of the Penitential Psalms), 13c., from Miserere mei Deus "Have mercy upon me, O God," opening line, from L. miserere "have mercy," imperative of misereri "to have mercy," from miser. From 15c.-17c. used as an informal measure of time, "the time it takes to recite the Miserere." Also in miserere mei "kind of severe colic ('iliac passion') accompanied by excruciating cramps and vomiting of excrement" (1611).
- kyrie eleison
- early 13c., Gk. liturgical formula, adopted untranslated into Latin Mass, lit. "lord have mercy" (Ps. cxxii.3, Matt. xv.22, xvii.15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show mercy to," from eleos "pity, mercy" (see alms).
- amerce
- 1215, earlier amercy, Anglo-Fr. amercier "to fine," from merci "mercy, grace" (see mercy). The legal phrase estre a merci "to be at the mercy of" (a tribunal, etc.) was corrupted to estre amercié in an example of how a legalese adv. phrase can become a verb (cf. abandon). The sense often was "to fine arbitrarily."
"Frans hom ne seit amerciez pour petit forfet." [Magna Charta]
- Mercedes
- fem. proper name, from Sp., abbrev. of Maria de las Mercedes "Mary of the Mercies," from pl. of merced "mercy, grace," from L. mercedem (nom. merces); see mercy.
- alms
- O.E. ælmesse, from P.Gmc. *alemosna, an early borrowing of V.L. *alemosyna, from Church L. eleemosyna (Tertullian, 3c.), from Gk. eleemosyne "pity, mercy," in Ecclesiastical Gk. "charity, alms," from eleemon "compassionate," from eleos "pity, mercy," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of cries for alms.
- chutzpah
- 1892, from Yiddish khutspe "impudence, gall" from Heb. hutspah. The classic definition is that given by Leo Rosten: "that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."
- Bethesda
- 1857, name of a pool in Jerusalem (John v.2), from Gk. Bethesda, from Aramaic beth hesda "house of mercy," or perhaps "place of flowing water." Popular as a name for religious meeting houses among some Protestant denominations.
- unsparing
- "showing no mercy," 1586, from un- (1) "not" + sparing (see spare (v.)).
- merciless
- c.1300, see mercy + -less. Related: Mercilessly.
- merciful
- c.1300; see mercy + -ful. Related: Mercifully.
- euthanasia
- c.1600, from Gk. euthanasia "an easy or happy death," from eu- "good" + thanatos "death." Sense of "legally sanctioned mercy killing" is first recorded in English 1869.
- break (n.)
- c.1300, "act of breaking," from break (v.). Sense of "short interval between spells of work (originally between lessons at school) is from 1861. Meaning "stroke of luck" is attested by 1911, probably an image from billiards (where the break that starts the game is attested from 1865). Meaning "stroke of mercy" is from 1914. Musical sense, "improvised passage, solo" is attested from 1920s in jazz.
- propitiation
- late 14c., from L.L. propitiationem (nom. propitiatio) "an atonement," from L. propitiare "render favorable," from propitius "favorable, gracious, kind," from pro- "forward" + petere "go to" (see petition). Earliest recorded form of the word is propitiatorium "the mercy seat, place of atonement" (c.1200), translating Gk. hilasterion.
- butler
- late 12c., from Anglo-Fr. buteillier "cup-bearer," from O.Fr. boteillier "cup-bearer, butler, officer in charge of wine," from boteille "wine vessel, bottle" (see bottle). The word reflects the position's original function as "chief servant in charge of wine." In O.Fr., fem. boteilliere was used of the Virgin Mary as "dispenser" of the cup of Mercy.