alimony
pronunciation
How to pronounce alimony in British English:
UK [ˈælɪməni]
How to pronounce alimony in American English:
US [ˈælɪmoʊni]
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- Noun:
- court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated
Word Origin
- alimony
- alimony: [17] Alimony is an anglicization of Latin alimōnia, which is based on the verb alere ‘nourish’ (source of alma ‘bounteous’, as in alma mater, and of alumnus). This in turn goes back to a hypothetical root *al-, which is also the basis of English adolescent, adult, altitude (from Latin altus ‘high’), and old.The original sense ‘nourishment, sustenance’ has now died out, but the specialized ‘support for a former wife’ is of equal antiquity in English. The -mony element in the word represents Latin -mōnia, a fairly meaning-free suffix used for forming nouns from verbs (it is related to -ment, which coincidentally was also combined with alere, to form alimentary), but in the later 20th century it took on a newly productive role in the sense ‘provision of maintenance for a former partner’. Palimony ‘provision for a former non-married partner’ was coined around 1979, and in the 1980s appeared dallymony ‘provision for somebody one has jilted’.=> adult, altitude, alumnus, old
- alimony (n.)
- 1650s, "nourishment," also "allowance to a wife from a husband's estate, or in certain cases of separation," from Latin alimonia "food, support, nourishment, sustenance," from alere "to nourish" (see old) + -monia suffix signifying action, state, condition (cognate with Greek -men). Derived form palimony coined 1979.
Example
- 1. Husbands end up paying the smallest alimony when no lawyers are involved .
- 2. State lawmakers are also being pushed to revamp alimony laws , which activists say unfairly favor women over men .
- 3. In texas state law , alimony is usually minimal and temporary-though child support , thankfully , is a federal matter .
- 4. One key , he said , would be figuring out a formula for predetermining alimony , given the extent to which money becomes a proxy for bitterness during divorce .
- 5. Australian cricketers do not make as much money as global golf stars , hence , the probability of her receiving a large alimony was low .