Dictionary / mercy
mercy
- noun
- verb
- interjection
- from Anglo-Norman
Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “mercy” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- uncountableRelenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
She took mercy on him and quit embarrassing him.
- uncountableForgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.
Have mercy on the poor and assist them if you can.
- uncountableA tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion.
Mercy is one of his many virtues.
- countableInstances of forbearance or forgiveness.
1982, Bible (NKJV), Psalm 40:11a Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord
- countableA blessing; something to be thankful for.
It was a mercy that we were not inside when the roof collapsed
- uncountableA children's game in which two players stand opposite with hands grasped and twist each other's arms until one gives in.
verb
- To feel mercy
I despised her; but I mercied her, too, and gave her sweet berries to eat, and led her to my lodge, and said to my best wife, ' Get up from my best skin, for the white squaw is a guest, and is weary.'1866, Sarah Hammond Palfrey, Herman: Or, Young Knighthood, page 189:
- To show mercy; to pardon or treat leniently because of mercy
In the middle of the room is a young Infanta intended for Marguerite Theresa, born in 1651, daughter of Philip the fourth, whose portrait Velasquez took in 1658, to send to Leopold, who had just been elected Emperor of Germanyd and who mercied her in 1666.1833, Etienne Achille Réveil, Museum of Painting and Sculpture:
interjection
- Expressing surprise or alarm.
Mercy! Look at the state of you!
Cross-check: WordNet senses (5)
- nounleniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice — also: clemency, mercifulness
- nouna disposition to be kind and forgiving — also: mercifulness
- nounthe feeling that motivates compassion — also: mercifulness
- nounsomething for which to be thankful
- nounalleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)mercy
- Middle Englishmercy
- Anglo-Normanmerci (compare continental Old French merci)
- Latinmercēs “wages, fee, price”
- Latinmerx “wares, merchandise”
From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci.
Derivatives — words built from “mercy”
Phrases & compounds
Want to go deeper? See also “mercy” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “mercy” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
mercy n. [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.]
- Forbearance to inflict harm under circumstances of provocation, when one has the power to inflict it; compassionate treatment of an offender or adversary; clemency.
- Compassionate treatment of the unfortunate and helpless; sometimes, favor, beneficence.
- Disposition to exercise compassion or favor; pity; compassion; willingness to spare or to help.
- A blessing regarded as a manifestation of compassion or favor.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
She took mercy on him and quit embarrassing him.
nounMeaning: Forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.
Have mercy on the poor and assist them if you can.
He despaired of God's mercy in the same fact, where this presumed of it; he by a decollation of all hope annihilated his mercy, this by an immoderancy thereof destroyed his justice1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
nounMeaning: A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion.
Mercy is one of his many virtues.
nounMeaning: Instances of forbearance or forgiveness.
1982, Bible (NKJV), Psalm 40:11a Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord
nounMeaning: A blessing; something to be thankful for.
It was a mercy that we were not inside when the roof collapsed
verbMeaning: To feel mercy
I despised her; but I mercied her, too, and gave her sweet berries to eat, and led her to my lodge, and said to my best wife, ' Get up from my best skin, for the white squaw is a guest, and is weary.'1866, Sarah Hammond Palfrey, Herman: Or, Young Knighthood, page 189:
At another time, forgetting "his verse," he attempted part of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, by repeating, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be mercied!"1867, Henry Mills Alden, Lee Foster Hartman, Frederick Lewis Allen, Harper's Magazine - Volume 34, page 402:
nounMeaning: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
he threw himself on the mercy of the court
nounMeaning: something for which to be thankful
it was a mercy we got out alive
nounMeaning: alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed
distributing food and clothing to the flood victims was an act of mercy
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
mercy
/ˈmɜːsi/ · mer·cy
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
mercy
/ˈmɜːsi/ · mer·cy · noun, verb, interjection
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “mercy” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“She took mercy on him and quit embarrassing him.”
Circle the meaning used.
“Have mercy on the poor and assist them if you can.”
Circle the meaning used.
“Mercy is one of his many virtues.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “mercy” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin merx. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — mercy
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
Which meaning, sentence 2: C. Forgiveness or compassion, especially toward those less fortunate.
Which meaning, sentence 3: A. A tendency toward forgiveness, pity, or compassion.
Origin: C. Anglo-Norman (Anglo-Norman merci)
Journey: English mercy ← Middle English mercy ← Anglo-Norman merci ← Latin mercēs ← Latin merx
Some derivatives: bemercy, God-a-mercy, laws-a-mercy, merciful, mercify, merciless, merciness, mercy-killing
Original meaning: Latin merx — “wares, merchandise”
Etymology: From Middle English mercy, merci, from Anglo-Norman merci (compare continental Old French merci, mercit), from Latin mercēs (“wages, fee, price”), from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Displaced native Old English mildheortnes (literally "mildheartedness"). Cognate with French merci, whence the doublet merci.
Sources: Wiktionary “mercy” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mercy#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/mercy