🇺🇸
/ˈæl.mə.nɚz/
🇺🇸
/ˈæl.mə.nɚz/
🇬🇧
/ˈæl.mə.nɚz/
🇬🇧
/ˈæl.mə.nɚz/
Plural
almoners
Almoners were historically officials—often in hospitals or religious institutions—who distributed alms (money or aid) to the poor and assessed patients' financial circumstances to determine eligibility for charitable care; though largely obsolete in modern healthcare systems, the role laid foundations for today's medical social work and patient welfare services.
In early 20th-century British hospitals, the almoner interviewed patients to assess their ability to pay for treatment.
The hospital's almoner helped coordinate financial assistance and community support for low-income families.
Her thesis examined the evolution of the almoner into the modern clinical social worker.
The 1930 Almoners' Association established professional standards for welfare officers in healthcare.
Though the title 'almoner' has faded, its compassionate mission lives on in social work departments across NHS hospitals.
alms
Comes from Old English 'ælmesse', borrowed from Late Latin 'eleemosyna', which itself derives from Greek 'eleēmosynē' (ἐλεημοσύνη), meaning 'pity, mercy, alms'. The root conveys the concept of charitable giving—especially money or goods given to the poor or needy out of compassion. Examples include alms, almoner, almshouse, eleemosynary.