gramercy

English

Alternative forms

• gra'mercy
• gra-mercy
• grand mercy (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English gramerci, from Old French grant merci (“great thanks”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡɹəˈmɝ.si/, /ˈɡɹæm.ɚ.si/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɹəˈmɜː.si/, /ˈɡɹæm.ə.si/
• Hyphenation: gra‧mer‧cy
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)si

Interjection

gramercy

1. (archaic) Used as an expression of gratitude: thanks; many thanks.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:thank you

   • [late 14th – early 15th century, “Transition English: From the Conquest to Chaucer.—a.d. 1666 to a.d. 1352 [Sir Cleges.]”, in Henry Morley, editor, Shorter English Poems (Cassell’s Library of English Literature), London, Paris: Cassell & Company, […], published c. 1870s, →OCLC, page 28, column 2, lines 409–412:

     Gramércy, liegé King, / This is to me a comforting: / I tell you sickerly / For to have land or lede / Or other riches, so God me speed, / It is too much for me.

     The spelling was modernized by the editor.]

   • 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter VIII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 155:

     "Gramercy! good fellow," cried Prince John, "thou pleasest me—Here, Isaac, lend me a handful of byzants."

2. (archaic) Used as an exclamation expressing surprise or sudden strong feelings.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wow

Noun

gramercy (countable and uncountable, plural gramercies)

1. (archaic) Thanks.