Mercy

How to spell mercy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mercy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mercy mean?

1. nounCompassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom one has the power to punish or harm.

Mercy in a sentence

• The judge showed mercy and reduced the sentence considerably.

• The prisoners begged for mercy as the verdict was read.

Where does mercy come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Mercy comes from the Latin noun merces, which literally meant 'wages', 'fee', or 'reward', the price paid for goods or labour. In the Latin of the early Church the word drifted from earthly payment toward a heavenly reward, the spiritual recompense granted for kindness and forgiveness, and so it came to carry the idea of compassion freely given. English borrowed it through Old French merci during the 1100s, where it already meant pity, grace, and the favour shown by one who could otherwise punish. That same French merci survives today as the everyday word for 'thank you', a direct echo of the original sense of reward and gratitude. The soft 'c' that English kept is the spelling trap, since the word is pronounced with an 's' sound but written with a 'c' inherited from its Latin and French ancestry.

How the word is built

• merc- (from Latin merces: reward, wages, favour)
• -y (noun suffix)