From Middle English merciful , mercyful , equivalent to mercy + -ful . Displaced native Old English mildheort .
merciful (comparative more merciful , superlative most merciful )
Showing mercy .
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard , She: A History of Adventure , London: Longmans, Green, and Co. , published 1887 , →OCLC :`Listen, Holly. Thou art a good and honest man, and I fain would spare thee; but, oh! it is so hard for woman to be merciful .'
1900 , Charles W[addell] Chesnutt , chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars , Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company [ … ] , →OCLC :The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.
showing mercy
Arabic: رَحِيم ( raḥīm )
Armenian: ողորմած (hy) ( oġormac )
Belarusian: міласэ́рны ( milasérny ) , лі́тасцівы ( lítascivy ) , мі́ласцівы ( mílascivy ) , мі́ласлівы ( mílaslivy )
Bulgarian: милости́в (bg) ( milostív ) , милосъ́рден (bg) ( milosǎ́rden ) , състрада́телен (bg) ( sǎstradátelen )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 仁慈 (zh) ( réncí ) , 慈悲的 (zh) ( cíbēi-de )
Czech: milosrdný (cs) , milostivý
Dutch: barmhartig (nl) , genadig (nl)
Finnish: armelias (fi) , armollinen (fi)
French: miséricordieux (fr) , indulgent (fr) , sensible (fr)
Georgian: გულმოწყალე ( gulmoc̣q̇ale ) , სათნო ( satno )
German: gnädig (de) , barmherzig (de)
Gothic: 𐌱𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌸𐍃 ( bleiþs ) , 𐌰𐍂𐌼𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍃 ( armahairts )
Greek:
Ancient: ἐλεήμων ( eleḗmōn )
Hebrew: רַחֲמָן (he) m ( raẖamán ) , רַחוּם m ( raẖúm )
Hungarian: kegyes (hu) , könyörületes (hu)
Italian: misericordioso (it)
Japanese: 慈悲深い (ja) ( じひぶかい, jihibukai ) , 慈愛深い ( じあいぶかい, jiaibukai )
Korean: 자비롭다 (ko) ( jabiropda )
Latgalian: žieleigs
Latin: misericors (la)
Latvian: žēlīgs
Macedonian: милостив ( milostiv ) , милослив ( milosliv ) , милосен ( milosen ) , милосрден ( milosrden )
Maori: whakaaroha
Norman: mînséthicordieux
Old English: mildheort
Ottoman Turkish: رحیم
Persian: مهربان (fa) ( mehrabân ) , رحیم (fa) ( rahim ) , بخشایشگر (fa) ( baxšâyešgar )
Plautdietsch: erboarmlich
Polish: miłosierny (pl) , litościwy (pl) , miłościwy (pl)
Portuguese: misericordioso (pt) , piedoso (pt) m
Romanian: milostiv (ro) , îndurător (ro)
Russian: милосе́рдный (ru) ( milosérdnyj ) , ми́лостивый (ru) ( mílostivyj ) , сострада́тельный (ru) ( sostradátelʹnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: tròcaireach ,cneasta ,truacanta
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ми̏лоср̄дан , мѝлостӣв
Roman: mȉlosr̄dan (sh) , mìlostīv (sh)
Slovak: milosrdný , milostivý
Slovene: milosten , usmiljen
Spanish: misericordioso (es)
Swedish: nådig (sv)
Tocharian B: aräñcatste
Tok Pisin: marimari
Turkish: merhametli (tr) , rahman (tr) , rahim (tr)
Ukrainian: милосе́рдий ( mylosérdyj ) , милосе́рдний ( mylosérdnyj ) , ми́лостивий ( mýlostyvyj ) , милости́вий ( mylostývyj )
Yiddish: רחמנותדיק ( rakhmonesdik )