pl.n.
Money or goods given as charity to the poor.
[Middle English almes, from Old English ælmesse, from Late Latin eleēmosyna, from Greek eleēmosunē, pity, charity, from eleēmōn, pitiful, from eleos, pity.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
