Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ELEEMOSYNARY
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pronounce
ELEEMOSYNARY:
Say it "ELL uh MOSS uh nair ee."
Or, if you want to stick to the older pronunciation, "ELL ee ee MOSS uh nair ee."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
A high five to Benjamin, who spotted the word eleemosynary and shared it with me. I love it: it's warm, loving, kind-spirited, and beautiful.
It means giving, charitable, philanthropic, b___v____t.
Can you recall that last synonym? It's Latin for "well-wishing," and it means "actively kind and helpful toward other people."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
In Greek, eleemosyne means "pity, mercy, compassion, or charity." Eleemosyne made its way into Latin, then English by around the 1640s, possibly earlier.
Eleemosynary things have to do with giving alms or charity. In other words, something eleemosynary involves giving money, food, shelter, or other important things to people in need.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "It's an eleemosynary organization."
Other forms:
The adverb is "eleemosynarily."
how to use it:
Honestly, I can't think of a really good reason to pick the rare, long, hard-to-say word "eleemosynary" instead of a more familiar synonym like "charitable," "philanthropic," or "humanitarian."
But some of us just really love a rare, beautiful word. If that's you, then you'll enjoy talking about eleemosynary grants, projects, donations, impulses, organizations, institutions, etc.
examples:
"The eleemosynary impulse is alive and well... Gifts to U.S. charities hit $471 billion in 2020, a record."
— Editorial board, Washington Post, 24 November 2021
"[Taxing the wealthy] diminishes or dries up the springs of philanthropic eleemosynary and educational life."
— "The Conscription of Wealth," New York Times, 24 August 1917
has this page helped you understand "eleemosynary"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "eleemosynary" without saying "charitable" or "philanthropic."
try it out:
In a business textbook, some researchers observed, "Companies are using their eleemosynary programs more as strategic tools to improve their social reputations."
Talk about what they mean. Also, do you think companies ought to keep their eleemosynary activity private? Or do you think it's fine for them to publicize it? Why?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for this month is "Provocative Verbs."
Check out the headline below. Originally, it included some highly emotional verb, like "bushwhack," "agonize," or "soar." But I've swapped it out for an emotionless one.
Try to restore the strong feelings that the headline originally evoked by choosing your own highly emotional verb to swap back in. For example, instead of "St. Jude Keeps Billions While Many of Its Families Use Their Savings," you might come up with "St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings," the original provocative headline from ProPublica.
Scroll all the way down to see the original headline. You might think of the same verbs as the original writers did, or yours might be even spicier.
Try this one today:
From The Conversation: "Art shows the beauty of science – and could teach the next generation of scientists"
review this word:
A. HELPLESS.
B. MERCILESS.
C. LIMITLESS.
2.
Appropriately, the main message in Lee Blessing's play Eleemosynary is that _____.
A. everyone needs forgiveness
B. childhood innocence is sacred
C. a person can get used to anything
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
A high five to Benjamin, who spotted the word eleemosynary and shared it with me. I love it: it's warm, loving, kind-spirited, and beautiful.
In Greek, eleemosyne means "pity, mercy, compassion, or charity." Eleemosyne made its way into Latin, then English by around the 1640s, possibly earlier.
Part of speech:
Honestly, I can't think of a really good reason to pick the rare, long, hard-to-say word "eleemosynary" instead of a more familiar synonym like "charitable," "philanthropic," or "humanitarian."
"The eleemosynary impulse is alive and well... Gifts to U.S. charities hit $471 billion in 2020, a record."
Explain the meaning of "eleemosynary" without saying "charitable" or "philanthropic."
In a business textbook, some researchers observed, "Companies are using their eleemosynary programs more as strategic tools to improve their social reputations."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |