Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, relating to, or dependent on charity.
- adj. Contributed as an act of charity; gratuitous. See Synonyms at benevolent.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of or pertaining to alms; derived from or provided by charity; charitable: as, an eleemosynary fund; an eleemosynary hospital.
- Relating to charitable donations; intended for the distribution of alms, or for the use and management of donations and bequests, whether for the subsistence of the poor or for the conferring of any gratuitous benefit.
- Dependent upon charity; receiving charitable aid or support: as, the eleemosynary poor.
- n. One who subsists on charity; one who lives by receiving alms.
Wiktionary
- adj. Relating to charity, alms, or almsgiving; intended for the distribution of charity;
- adj. Given in charity or alms; having the nature of alms; as, eleemosynary assistance.
- adj. Supported by charity; as, eleemosynary poor.
- n. A beggar
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Relating to charity, alms, or almsgiving; intended for the distribution of charity.
- adj. Given in charity or alms; having the nature of alms.
- adj. Supported by charity.
- n. One who subsists on charity; a dependent.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. generous in assistance to the poor
Etymologies
- Medieval Latin eleēmosynārius, from Late Latin eleēmosyna, alms; see alms.
Examples
“Yesterday's term was eleemosynary, which is defined as:”
“Also "eleemosynary", though not in the same sentence.”
“An eighth-grade pupil at Jordan School, Clapp became champion by correctly spelling "eleemosynary" and "herbaceous.”
“Fortunately, it only took me a few seconds to come to my senses and my better, more eleemosynary angels to take over.”
“He was a business visionary; she was an eleemosynary visionary.”
We Remember - Isabelle Charlotte Weinstein Goldenson, 1921 - 2005
“• Let's start with our eleemosynary friends at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, whose CEOs testified before a bi-partisan Congressional Committee on the financial crisis last week.”
Adam Hanft: The Haiti Tragedy: Why Is There Digital Silence?
“But here again a great swath of Americans whose sense of personal identity and pride was tied to their eleemosynary activities in their communities are now bereft of even this intrinsically important part of their lives.”
“Shouldn't we bring back the bridewell and rely on eleemosynary assistance instead - remember they made the Empire and then the welfare state destroyed it from 1918 onwards”
“Second, dynasties are not really a big issue in America today and the eleemosynary impulse is strongly ingrained in our society.”
The Wall Street Journal: How Does Confiscation Encourage Wealth Creation?
“Later Americans took it on as an eleemosynary effort, donating money for packages to be sent to very general specifications such as a "school teacher in Germany.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘eleemosynary’.
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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High Brow
tremulous, vigorous, unction, coadjutor, dotage, mirth, obtuseness, torpid, talisman, infirm, score, subsistence and 49 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( etymology )
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 837 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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nschotten's list
A list of words.
fecundity, atavistic, steatopygous, demiurge, sufflaminandus, occiput, trenchant, hobnails, soft-pedal, parsimony, fatuous, ratiocination and 28 more...
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Words with unusual spellings or pronunciations
Herein are listed words with oddball spellings and words whose pronunciation does not reflect the spelling.
eleemosynary, Wednesday, colonel, posslq, zaqqum, qwerty, cinquefoil, qibla(h), minuscule, Cholmondeley, polyphloisboian, ptisan and 67 more...
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Rexicon
brazen, insipid, cuss, penchant, salacious, titillate, lurid, schlemiel, interlope, masquerade, supercilious, action-taking and 51 more...
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MadiiMonsterr's list
Awesome Words
pretentious, eleemosynary, parsimonious, knavish, unscrupulous
benw What's wrong with charitable? Dec 26, 2010
chained_bear "Gates had started working for Rockefeller as a philanthropic adviser, but nothing limited him to eleemosynary concerns. He organized several Rockefeller business ventures..."
—John M. Barry, The Great Influenza (NY: Penguin Books, 2004), 72 Feb 10, 2009
yarb Yesterday Ambrose, while picking up eleemosynary at Cuença, stumbled upon one of our whining sisterhood...
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 5 ch. 1 Sep 19, 2008
knitandpurl 'An author,' says Fielding, in his introduction to 'Tom Jones,' 'ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who gives a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money. Men who pay for what they eat, will insist on gratifying their palates, however nice and whimsical these may prove; and if everything is not agreeable to their taste, will challenge a right to censure, to abuse, and to damn their dinner without control.'
-- from the Preface to the Original Edition of 'The Old Curiosity Shop,' 1841
Nov 11, 2007
seanahan This is a hell of a word. It really does take all 6 syllables. Jul 8, 2007
grammar I first saw this word when researching charitable immunity in the Georgia Code. May 22, 2007
seanmeade charity, alms, pity
and a play by Lee Blessing Apr 5, 2007