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alms

Historical Office
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Money, food, or other aid given to people in need as charity; historically, alms were often distributed through religious institutions or benefactors.

Detailed Definition
In older religious writing, alms are gifts given to the needy as an act of mercy or piety. The word often appears in medieval or biblical contexts, where begging alms was a common duty or practice.
Example
Example in poetry:
The friar asks alms at the gate, his bowl bright in winter rain; “Alms! alms!” cries the beggar in a city poem of want; Medieval alms join charity with religious duty; She gives alms quietly, refusing the camera's praise
Additional Notes
The word in "Begging alms and preaching lies," is a specialized older term for charitable giving that many modern readers may not use often.; Found in the poem, The Summoner's Tale by Richard
Also Known As
Charity Benevolence Donation Gift to the Poor
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