almoner

[al-muh-ner, ah-muh-]

noun

a person whose function or duty is the distribution of alms on behalf of an institution, a royal personage, a monastery, etc.
British.
1. a hospital official who determines the amount due for a patient's treatment.
2. a social worker in a hospital.

Origin of almoner

1250–1300; Middle English almoiner, aumoner (with insertion of l under influence of alms) < Old French aumon(i)er ≪ Late Latin eleēmosynārius eleemosynary

Related formssub·al·mon·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for almoner

Historical Examples of almoner

You, and others of your stamp, look upon me as an almoner, not more nor less.'
Gerald Fitzgerald
Charles James Lever
And he has often commissioned his Almoner to find a benefice for me.
Erasmus and the Age of Reformation
Johan Huizinga
He becomes the almoner of the treasure-house of Light and Knowledge.
The New Avatar and The Destiny of the Soul
Jirah D. Buck
"The body servant of the almoner, Pedro de Soto," was the reply.
Barbara Blomberg, Complete
Georg Ebers
He is almoner to the uncompassionate, who but for him would give no alms.
The Shadow On The Dial, and Other Essays
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for almoner

almoner

noun

British obsolete a trained hospital social worker responsible for the welfare of patients
(formerly) a person who distributes alms or charity on behalf of a household or institution

Word Origin for almoner

C13: from Old French almosnier, from almosne alms, from Vulgar Latin alemosina (unattested), from Late Latin eleēmosyna; see alms

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for almoner

"official distributor of alms on behalf of another," c.1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), from Old French almosnier (12c.; Modern French aumônerie), from Vulgar Latin *almosinarius, from Late Latin elemosinarius (adj.) "connected with alms," from eleemosyna "alms" (see alms).