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Glite Dictionary
almoner

almoner

1 9.9
A hospital worker who gives patients money and arranges other support
  • noun
  • /ˈæl.mə.nər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : almoner
  • The almoner helps patients by arranging their welfare support and ensuring their basic needs are met.

Examples

  • AND THEN, THERE WAS A PARDONER, AN ALMONER, AND A PRIEST, AND THEY WERE ALL GOING TO JERUSALEM.

    The Prince and the Pauper (1977)

  • Almoners of the great house fed men and women at the gate, doling each one a pound of bread, two cups of wine, and a bowl of meat.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Cardinal Louis de Rohan... ...grand almoner of France and prince of the house of Rohan.

    The Affair of the Necklace (2001)

  • The poor of the manor's village, gathering at the castle gate, will receive the sauce-laden bread from the almoner this evening.

    Blog text (6)

  • The residents were not missionaries bringing the faith to the heathen; nor were they almoners bringing them money, food, or clothes.

    Academic text (1990)

  • "Have ye something decent to wear?" I had been wearing a serviceable gray serge gown on our travels, acquired through the good offices of the almoner at the Abbey of Ste. Anne, but I did also have the gown in which I had escaped from Scotland, a gift from Lady Annabelle MacRannoch.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Following the disastrous Parliament of 1626, Charles not only questioned the queen's almoner, the Bishop of Mende, about 'the means used by the kings of France to rid themselves of Parliament', but also proceeded, in effect, to put parliaments on probation by insisting that his subjects demonstrate their loyalty to him by paying a 'Forced Loan' before he called another meeting.

    Academic text (2011)

  • In the hospital, the almoner provides assistance to families in need of food and financial aid.

  • As an almoner, she was responsible for distributing charity to the patients who required additional support.

Synonyms

medical social worker
vsalmoner
1 3.3

A person who helps hospital patients with emotional, family, and practical needs

focuses on arranging charity and practical welfare rather than emotional help

Surface Forms

almoner singular
almoners plural

Morphology

almoner = alms (semi-transparent) = alms + er

The word is historically based on 'alms' plus the agentive suffix '-er', but the modern hospital sense is specialized and the spelling is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Almoner comes from the old word alms, which means 'charity', plus the ending -er meaning 'a person who'. So an almoner was the person who gave out charity and helped patients, which explains the hospital role of arranging money and support for people in need.