Meanings
plural almoners
- A person who dispenses alms on behalf of another person.
the almoner of a prince or bishop
1 more example
Francesca, from where she stood, could hear the Queen giving a laughing account of the Due de Domville's attachment to Mademoiselle Menneville, the prettiest of her maids of honour, all of whom were pretty. "It is a passion of the good old time, and has already lasted some four years; but Madame la Duchesse de Vantadour, his mother, will not hear of it. Never before was a lover of fifty so put out, to think that he cannot yet have his own way. Not content with his own cares, when obliged to be absent he leaves his almoner to take charge of her. It is gallantry equally antediluvian and interminable; I suppose they will be married one day, and buried the next."
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 54
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan official in a British hospital who looks after the social and material needs of the patients
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latineleemosyna
- Old Frenchalmosnier
- Middle Englishaumener
- Englishalmoner
From Middle English aumener, aulmener, from Old French almosnier, from almosne (“alms”), from Latin eleemosyna. See alms, Almosen.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans aalmoesenier, aalmoesenier
- aalmoesenierperson who distributes alms
- aalmoesenierperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Dutch aalmoezenier, aalmoezenier
- aalmoezenierperson who distributes alms
- aalmoezenierperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
French aumônier, aumônier
- aumônierperson who distributes alms
- aumônierperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Irish almsóir, banalmsóir
- almsóirperson who distributes alms
- banalmsóirperson who distributes alms
- almsóirperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Italian elemosiniere, elemosiniere
- elemosiniereperson who distributes alms
- elemosiniereperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Latin elemosinarius, eleemosynarius
- elemosinariusperson who distributes alms
- eleemosynariusperson who distributes alms
- eleemosynariusperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
- elemosinariusperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Polish jałmużnik, jałmużnica
- jałmużnikperson who distributes alms
- jałmużnicaperson who distributes alms
- jałmużnikperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Portuguese esmoler, esmoler
- esmolerperson who distributes alms
- esmolerperson who distributes alms on behalf of another
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
almoner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almoner
“almoner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almoner. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “almoner,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almoner.
Source: almoner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.