Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

alms

/ɑmz/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.89 in modern English

Syllables
alms
IPA
/ɑmz/
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something given to the poor as charity, such as money, clothing or food.

name

Initialism of American Le Mans Series, an enclosed-wheel enclosed-cockpit four-wheel custom-built prototype sports car racing series.

name

Initialism of Asian Le Mans Series, an enclosed-wheel enclosed-cockpit four-wheel custom-built prototype sports car racing series.

name

A surname from German.

noun

plural of ALM

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἔλεος (éleos) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek ἐλεέω (eleéō) Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ Ancient Greek -μων (-mōn) Ancient Greek ἐλεήμων (eleḗmōn) Ancient Greek -συνος (-sunos) Ancient Greek -σῠ́νη (-sŭ́nē) Ancient Greek ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosúnē)bor. Late Latin eleēmosyna Vulgar Latin *alēmosynabor. Proto-West Germanic *alemōsinā Old English ælmesse Middle English almesse English alms From Middle English almes, almesse, ælmesse, from Old English ælmesse, from Proto-West Germanic *alemōsinā, a borrowing from Vulgar Latin *alemosyna, from Late Latin eleēmosyna, from Ancient Greek ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosúnē, “alms”), from ἐλεέω (eleéō, “to have mercy”), from ἔλεος (éleos, “mercy”). Compare Saterland Frisian Aalmoose (“alms”), Dutch aalmoes (“alms”), German Almosen (“alms”), Catalan almoina (“alms”), Portuguese esmola (“alms”), Galician esmola (“alms”), Spanish limosna (“alms”), French aumône (“alms”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: almes, ælmesse, *alemōsinā, *alemosyna, eleēmosyna, ἐλεημοσύνη

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɑmz/
  • British English: /ɑːmz/

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

almsdeed almsfolk almsful almsgate almsgift almsgiver almsgiving almshouse almsland almsless almsman almsroom

Phrases

alms-deed alms-fee alms-folk alms penny alms tub plough-alms

Frequently Paired Words

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce alms?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɑmz/.
What does alms mean?
Something given to the poor as charity, such as money, clothing or food.
Where does alms come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce alms

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “alms”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɑmz/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “alms”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “alms” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.