Mĕr'cy, n.

n. [O. Fr. mercit, merci, N. Fr. merci, Sp. merced, Pg. & Pr. mercê, It. mercè, from Lat. merces, mercedis, hire, pay, reward, L. Lat. equivalent to misericordia. Cf. AMERCE.]

1Sense 1. Disposition to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; inclination to forego justice, to remit penalty, or to forgive obligation, out of compassion for the offender or debtor; clemency.

The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty. Num. xiv. 18.

Mercy and truth preserve the king; and his throne is upholden by mercy. Prov. xx. 28.

2Sense 2. An act or exercise of mercy or favor; pity; compassion; leniency; tenderness; mildness.

I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. Gen. xxxii. 10.

And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Luke x. 37.

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. Matt. ix. 13.

To be at the mercy of, to be wholly in the power of; to have no defense but the compassion or clemency of.—To cry mercy, to beg pardon; to excuse one's self.

I cry thee mercy with all my heart. Dryden.

— Sisters of Mercy (Rom. Cath. Church), a religious order founded in Dublin in the year 1827. Communities of the same name have since been established in various American cities. The duties of those belonging to the order are, to attend lying-in hospitals, to superintend the education of females, and protect decent women out of employment, to visit prisoners and the sick, and to attend persons condemned to death.

Synonyms—See GRACE.