| 释义 |
alms|ɑːmz|
Forms: 1 ælmysse, 1–3 ælmesse (2–3 ælmisse, elmisse, 2–4 elmesse), 2–6 almesse (2–4 almisse, 4 alemesse, allmesse, 5 almese), 2–7 almes (2 elmes, 3 almys, 4 almis, 5 elmys, 6 allmes), 7–9 alms. Pl. wanting; formerly 4–6 almessis, almesses; since 7 the sing. alms has also been used as pl.
[OE. ælmysse, obl. cases ælmyssan, cogn. w. ON. almusa (Dan. almisse, Sw. almosa), OFris. ielmisse, OS. alamósna, OHG. alamuosan (MHG. almuosen, mod.G. almosen), pointing to a com. OTeut. *alemosna or *alemosina, a. pop. L. *alimosina (whence Pr. and OSp. almosna, OFr. almosne, It. limosina), a perversion (due perhaps to sense-association with alimōnia) of elimosina, elemosina, orig. eleēmosyna (Tertull., 3rd c.) ad. Gr. ἐλεηµοσύνη compassionateness (n. of qual. f. ἐλεήµων compassionate, f. ἔλεος compassion, mercy).
The final -n in OE. was early treated as inflexional, and disappeared from the nom.; in recent times the final -s of the reduced form almes, alms, has also been treated as a plural inflexion. For the y in OE. ælmyssan from *alimosina, cf. mynet, mylen, repres. Lat. moneta, molina. In ME. the s.e. dialects long retained forms with initial e, elmesse, elmes. Distinct by-forms are the northern almous, awmous, an independent adoption of Norse almusa; the 16th century literary almose, almoyse; and the legal almoign, almone, from AFr.]
1. Charitable relief of the poor; charity; originally and especially as a religious duty, or good work; const. with do, make, work. Afterwards applied especially to the material substance of the relief, and const. with give, bestow, etc.
a. abstr. or collect. without plural.
a1000? Cædm. Dan. 587 (Gr.), Syle ælmyssan. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. vi. 2 Þonne þu þine ælmessan dó. c1160Hatton G. ibid., Þanne þu þine ælmesse do. c1175Lamb. Hom. 23 Hu miht þu don þine elmesse. Ibid. 137 Al ðe almisse þe mon deð. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 29 Þenne þu almesse makest. Ibid. 131 Ure gode dedes, on elmes, and on oðre þinge. Ibid. 157 On oðer wise man silleð his almes. 1250Grosteste in Dom. Arch. III. 82 That youre almys be kepyd..to poure men. 1297R. Glouc. 330 He was..of hys almesse large & fre. 1340Ayenb. 17 Prede makeþ of elmesse zenne. 1366Mandeville xviii. 199 To gadre hem precyous Stones and Perles, be weye of Alemesse. c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 70 Hir hond mynistre of fredom and almesse. c1400Apol. for Loll. 111 Wil þu not do almis of oker & vsur; þat is, do not swilk defautis to do almis þerof. c1440Gesta Rom. (1879) 17 Tythes and oblacions, and othere almese. c1469Ebesham in Past. Lett. 596 II. 333 Sende me for almes oon of your olde gownes. 1581Marbeck Bk. Notes 27 This word Almes, importeth as much as mercie. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1312/2 The distributors of this almesse to the poore. 1666Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 189 To be buried at the Almes of the parish. 1790Cowper Odyss. xviii. 2, A public mendicant..seeking alms. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 202 Do you pity me? Then give me alms.
b. As sing. (with pl. obs. since 16th c.) A charitable donation, a gift of charity, a benefaction.
c1375Wyclif Anticrist 131 Crist's almes..was encresed to twelve lepful. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 306 Þat Freres · wolde forsake hir almesses. 1382Wyclif Acts x. 2 Doynge manye almessis to the peple. c1449Pecock Repr. 550 bis, If religiose persoones..receyve myche and grete Almessis. 1535Coverdale Acts iii. 3 He desyred to receaue an almesse [1611 asked an almes]. 1541Barnes Wks. 1573, 274/1 Our eatyng, our drynkyng, our almesses, our prayers. 1711Addison Spect. No. 269 ⁋4 A Beggar Man that had asked an Alms of him. 1848Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. viii. 59 Every alms is a fresh badge of slavery.
c. as pl. [from the collective sense, assisted by treating the final -s as a pl. inflection, as in riches.] Things given in charity.
1557N. T. (Geneva) Acts x. 4 Thy prayers and thy almes are come vp into remembrance [Gr. ἐλεηµοσύναι, Wycl. almes-dedis, Tind. almeses, Coverd. allmesses, Cranm. almeses, Rhem. almes-deedes, 1611 almes. But cf. v. 2 ἐλεηµοσύνας πολλὰς, Wycl. many almessis, Tind. moche almes, Coverd. moch almesse, Cranm. moch almes, Gen. much almes, Rhem. many almes-deedes, 1611 much almes; so that in v. 4 it may likewise be sing. notwithstanding the Gr.] 1647R. Corbet Poems (1807) 122 His alms were such as Paul defines. 1686Dryden Hind & P. iii. 106 For alms are but the vehicles of prayer. 1865Pall Mall G. 2 May 3 The Alms are thus given by himself to himself.
†2. fig. A meritorious action, a good deed, a service to God, a charity. Often ironically. Obs.
c1430Lydg. Bochas (1544) Prol. 30 It is almes to correcten and amend The vicious folke. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. ccxcv. 437 It is a great almesse to confort maydens in their distresse. 1528More Heresyes i. Wks. 1557, 137/1 It had ben great almes the priour, & shee had ben burned togyther. 1577Test. 12 Patriarchs 143 It were more alms to let him go, and to beat you. 1623Sanderson 35 Serm. Wks. 1681 I. 87 If he be hungry, it is alms to feed him; but if he be idle and untoward, it is alms to whip him.
3. Law.
a. Tenure by alms, see almoign; free alms = frank almoign.
b. reasonable alms: a portion of the estate of an intestate allotted to the poor.
1530Proper Dyaloge (1863) 25 And over thys that saye more suttelly that they occupye not this by tytle of secular lordshyppe but by tytle of perpetuall allmes. 1726Ayliffe Parergon 11 Frank-Almoigne is the same which we call..Free Alms in English.
4. Comb.,
a. general: with alms in objective relation to a pr. pple. or as obj. gen. to n. of action or agent, as alms-giving (pple.), alms-giver, alms-giving (n.); in instrumental relation to a pa. pple., as alms-clothed, alms-fed; and in attributive relations, of material, as alms-bread, alms-money; of purpose (for giving or receiving), as alms-basin, alms-bowl, alms-box, alms-chest, alms-gate, alms-purse; of causal connexion (giving or receiving), as alms-body, alms-folk, alms-man, alms-people, alms-priest, alms-woman.
1879O'Connor Beaconsfield 220 An almsgiving Church. a1631Donne Serm. xxxvii. 365 A liberall Almsgiver sends to persons that never know who sends. 1690J. Norris Pract. Disc. IV. 302 To prove to them that Almes-giving is a Duty. 1764Burn Hist. Poor Laws 205 Almsgiving, among the vulgar, hath engrossed the name of charity. 1670G. H. Hist. Cardinals ii. i. 111 Twenty thousand Crowns out of the Alms-money. Ibid. 107 They break open the Alms-box. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., The erecting of such alms-chest in every church, is enjoined by the book of canons. 1611Tarleton's Jests (N.), Tarlton called Burley-house gate..the lord treasurers almes-gate, because it was seldom or never opened. 1530Palsgr. 194/1 Almes purse, bovrse avlmosnieres. 1659Burroughs Beatit. (1867) 12, A poor godly alms-body. 1587Holinshed Chron. III. 830/1 He founded a faire large almes-house for an almose priest or schoolemaister, and thirteene poore almes folke. c1490Reg. Civ. Ebor. 366 a, The said almus women be fully content & paid. 1865H. Staunton Gt. Sch., Eton ii. 10 Alms-women who occupy the place once held by the Bedesmen.
b. esp. † alms-deal, -dealing, distribution of alms; † alms-drink, the remains of liquor reserved for alms-people; alms-gift, alms-giving, also = almoign; alms-land, land held in frank almoign; † alms-penny, a penny given in charity or as a gratuity; † alms-room, an apartment in an alms-house; † alms-tub, a large vessel in which the remains of food were preserved for distribution in alms; † alms-wine, wine given in alms; † alms-work (= alms-deed).
Also alms-basket, -deed, -dish, -fee, -folk, -house, -man, q.v.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 135 Þe apostel us muneȝeð here to..elmasdele. 1563Homilies ii. xi. ii. (1859) 389 Merciful almose-dealing is profitable to purge the soul. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 5 They haue made him drinke Almes drinke. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2464 Chirche-gong, elmesse-gifte, and messe-song. 1882J. Hardy in Proc. Ber. Nat. Club IX. 474 The Abbot..held one carrucate of land..in pure alms-gift. 1809Bawdwen Domesday Bk. 135 The Almsland of the poor is contained within this limit. 1595Peele Old Wive's T. (N.), Father, here is an alms-penny for me. a1589Petition in Robinson's Gold. Mirr. (1850) Introd. 12 One of the twelve Allmose Rowmes at Westminster. 1680Shadwell Wom.-Capt. i. Wks. 1726 III. 347 Whose beards stunk of beef and brewis, and his breath like the fume of an alm's-tub. 1461–83Ord. R. Househ. 73 Wynes, almeswynes to houses of relygyouse & for wynes of yeftes. c1200Ormin 10118 To wirrkenn allmesswerrkess. |