Question

eleemosynary adjective While you may not agree with the grammarian who asserted that "a long and learned word like this should only be used under the stress of great need," you might find that remembering how to spell "eleemosynary" makes you tend to use its synonym "charitable" instead. The good people of early England had mercy on themselves when it came to spelling and shortened the root of "eleemosynary," the Latin "eleemosyna," to "ælmes," which they used as their word for "charity." (You may be more familiar with "alms," an "ælmes" derivative that came to denote food or money given to the poor.) The original Latin root was resurrected in the early 17th century to give us the spelling challenge of the adjective we feature today. : of, relating to, or supported by charity

Accepted Answer

August 27, 2009 el-ih-MAH-suh-nair-ee "All politicians realize that senior citizens are the biggest contributors to eleemosynary causes … and are the most dependable source of volunteer hours for the public well-being." (Louis J. Finkle, The Biloxi Sun Herald [Mississippi], May 24, 2008)

Word	eleemosynary
Date	August 27, 2009
Type	adjective
Syllables	el-ih-MAH-suh-nair-ee
Etymology	While you may not agree with the grammarian who asserted that "a long and learned word like this should only be used under the stress of great need," you might find that remembering how to spell "eleemosynary" makes you tend to use its synonym "charitable" instead. The good people of early England had mercy on themselves when it came to spelling and shortened the root of "eleemosynary," the Latin "eleemosyna," to "ælmes," which they used as their word for "charity." (You may be more familiar with "alms," an "ælmes" derivative that came to denote food or money given to the poor.) The original Latin root was resurrected in the early 17th century to give us the spelling challenge of the adjective we feature today.
Examples	"All politicians realize that senior citizens are the biggest contributors to eleemosynary causes … and are the most dependable source of volunteer hours for the public well-being." (Louis J. Finkle, The Biloxi Sun Herald [Mississippi], May 24, 2008)
Definition	: of, relating to, or supported by charity

Eleemosynary Adjective Word Early Spelling Root Latin August