MERCY
What does "MERCY" mean?
Compassion or forbearance shown toward someone whom one has the power to punish or harm.
Meanings
- Kindness or leniency shown to an offender or to someone in one's power. The judge showed mercy and reduced the sentence.
- A fortunate or merciful thing; a relief. It was a mercy that no one was hurt in the crash. informal
- Compassion extended to those who suffer, especially in a religious sense. They prayed for the mercy of God.
Did you know?
- English 'mercy' and French 'merci' (thank you) are the same word: both come from Latin 'merces', meaning wages or reward, but each language kept a different shade of the original meaning.
"The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath."— William Shakespeare
Word origin
From Old French 'merci' (pity, thanks), from Latin 'merces' (wages, reward, price), which in Church Latin shifted to mean the heavenly reward earned by showing pity.
Remember it
MERCY hides 'me' and 'cry': mercy is what you show when you hear someone cry and could have made it worse.
A little poem
The lifted hand comes down
not as a blow but as a blessing-
the open palm forgets its fist.
tercet
What it teaches
Power proves itself not by the harm it can do but by the harm it chooses not to.
Quick facts
What does MERCY mean?
Compassion or forbearance shown toward someone whom one has the power to punish or harm.
Is MERCY a valid word?
Yes — MERCY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is MERCY?
MERCY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does MERCY come from?
From Old French 'merci' (pity, thanks), from Latin 'merces' (wages, reward, price), which in Church Latin shifted to mean the heavenly reward earned by showing pity.
What can MERCY teach us?
Power proves itself not by the harm it can do but by the harm it chooses not to.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.