Almose

/ˈælmoʊz/ noun

Definition

An archaic or obsolete variant spelling of alms, referring to charitable donations or gifts given to the poor.

Etymology

An alternative form of alms showing Middle English spelling variation. The modern word 'alms' is a back-formation from the plural treated as singular; almose represents an earlier stage of this evolution.

Kelly Says

Medieval spellings like 'almose' show that the word 'alms' used to be 'almosen' or 'almose'—the -en or -e was dropped when people stopped hearing it in fast speech!

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