OLD ENGLISH ÆLMES/ÆLMYSSE AS ‘MERITORIOUS DEED’

This article demonstrates that Old English ælmes/ælmysse - which usually means 'almsgiving' - was also used with an extended meaning of 'meritorious deed'. This is not currently listed in the Dictionary of Old English as one of the possible definitions of ælmes/ælmysse although the Middle English Dictionary attests this meaning for Middle English almes. The article identifies a possible Latin source for the extended meaning and a number of instances of the word used in this way which show that this meaning of ælmes/ælmysse came into use several centuries earlier than has previously been thought.