merci
Americaninterjection
Explanation
Borrowed directly from French, merci means "thank you." Using it adds a bit of continental flair to everyday expressions of gratitude. The word merci shares a linguistic history with the English word mercy. Both words descended from the Latin mercedem, meaning "reward, payment, or wages." In Old French, this concept evolved into a plea for grace, kindness, or pity (retained in English as mercy), as well as a polite acknowledgement of a favor received.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With her tousled hair and forbidding aloofness, May was a figure of bewitchment, la belle dame sans merci of the sardonic comeback.
From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2021
And the crowd starts to chant, "Merci, merci" - Thank you, thank you.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2016
My answer will be merci, Jeremy, but, as President Mitterrand once told the BBC about Disneyland, "ce n'est pas ma tasse de thé".
From The Guardian • May 31, 2012
And a merci beaucoup to Seattle chef Sally McArthur, who's lucky enough to spend part of every year in France and turned me on to one of her favorite Paris restaurants, auberge d'Chez Eux.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2011
“Merci, merci beaucoup,” Penelope exclaimed, but he was already gone.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
