merciful
English
Etymology
From Middle English merciful, mercyful, equivalent to mercy + -ful. Displaced native Old English mildheort.
Pronunciation
Adjective
merciful (comparative more merciful, superlative most merciful)
- Showing mercy.
- Synonyms: pitiful, relentful, ruthful; see also Thesaurus:merciful
- Antonyms: cruel, merciless; see also Thesaurus:cruel
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:`Listen, Holly. Thou art a good and honest man, and I fain would spare thee; but, oh! it is so hard for woman to be merciful.'
1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.
Derived terms
Translations
showing mercy
- Arabic: رَحِيم (raḥīm)
- Armenian: ողորմած (hy) (oġormac)
- Belarusian: міласэ́рны (milasérny), лі́тасцівы (lítascivy), мі́ласцівы (mílascivy), мі́ласлівы (mílaslivy)
- Bulgarian: милости́в (bg) (milostív), милосъ́рден (bg) (milosǎ́rden), състрада́телен (bg) (sǎstradátelen)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 仁慈 (zh) (réncí), 慈悲的 (zh) (cíbēi-de)
- Czech: milosrdný (cs), milostivý
- Dutch: barmhartig (nl), genadig (nl)
- Finnish: armelias (fi), armollinen (fi)
- French: miséricordieux (fr), indulgent (fr), sensible (fr)
- Georgian: გულმოწყალე (gulmoc̣q̇ale), სათნო (satno)
- German: gnädig (de), barmherzig (de)
- Gothic: 𐌱𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌸𐍃 (bleiþs), 𐌰𐍂𐌼𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍃 (armahairts)
- Greek: ελεήμων (el) (eleḯmon), ελεήμονας (el) (eleḯmonas)
- Ancient Greek: ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn)
- Hebrew: רַחֲמָן (he) m (raẖamán), רַחוּם m (raẖúm)
- Hungarian: kegyes (hu), könyörületes (hu)
- Italian: misericordioso (it)
- Japanese: 慈悲深い (ja) (じひぶかい, jihibukai), 慈愛深い (じあいぶかい, jiaibukai)
- Korean: 자비롭다 (ko) (jabiropda)
- Latgalian: žieleigs
- Latin: misericors (la)
- Latvian: žēlīgs
- Lithuanian: gailestingas
- Macedonian: милостив (milostiv), милослив (milosliv), милосен (milosen), милосрден (milosrden)
- Māori: whakaaroha
- Norman: mînséthicordieux
- Old English: mildheort
- Persian: مهربان (fa) (mehrabân), رحیم (fa) (rahim), بخشایشگر (fa) (baxšâyešgar)
- Plautdietsch: erboarmlich
- Polish: miłosierny (pl), litościwy (pl), miłościwy (pl)
- Portuguese: misericordioso (pt), piedoso (pt) m
- Romanian: milostiv (ro), îndurător (ro)
- Russian: милосе́рдный (ru) (milosérdnyj), ми́лостивый (ru) (mílostivyj), сострада́тельный (ru) (sostradátelʹnyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: tròcaireach, cneasta, truacanta
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: ми̏лоср̄дан, мѝлостӣв
- Latin: mȉlosr̄dan (sh), mìlostīv (sh)
- Slovak: milosrdný, milostivý
- Slovene: milosten, usmiljen
- Spanish: misericordioso (es), misericorde
- Swedish: nådig (sv)
- Tocharian B: aräñcatste
- Tok Pisin: marimari
- Turkish: merhametli (tr), rahman (tr), rahim (tr)
- Ottoman Turkish: رحیم
- Ukrainian: милосе́рдий (mylosérdyj), милосе́рдний (mylosérdnyj), ми́лостивий (mýlostyvyj), милости́вий (mylostývyj)
- Vietnamese: khoan hồng (vi) (寬洪), khoan dung (vi) (寬容), nhân từ (vi) (仁慈), từ bi (vi) (慈悲 (vi))
- Yiddish: רחמנותדיק (rakhmonesdik)
|
Anagrams
|