merci

See also: Merci, mērci, and merçi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French merci (“thank you”). Doublet of mercy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛːˈsiː/ or as French

Interjection

merci

1. (colloquial) Thank you.
   • 2005, Victoria Laurie, A Vision of Murder: A Psychic Eye Mystery, →ISBN:

     Rebecca Rosen, merci for helping me to understand that connection between you and The Other Side, and making the character of Theresa come alive.

   • 2008, Lewis H. Siegelbaum, Cars for Comrades: The Life of the Soviet Automobile, →ISBN:

     "Improve the roads! Merci for the reception!" With this insouciant remark and the banner he affixed to his automobile that read "Auto rally against roadlessness and slovenliness!"

   • 2014, Art Wiederhold, Hunter: Quebec, →ISBN:

     “Merci, Bob. I'll inform Lauren,” Bergere said as he hurried out of the office.

Related terms

• merci buckets

Noun

merci (plural mercis)

1. An extra card or set of cards that is allowed to play at the end of various card games.
   • 1995, Peter Arnold, The Book of Card Games, →ISBN, page 15:

     Few games are won without the merci. In the final deal a King above a card of the same suit automatically blocks the game, and the merci should be used to free such a card.

See also

• belle dame sans merci

Anagrams

• CRIME, REMIC, crime

Alemannic German

Etymology

Borrowed from French merci.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛrsi/

Interjection

merci

1. thank you

Synonyms

• dankche
• fergälts Got
• tank
• vrattrus Got
• wol vergelzgott

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French merci.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈme̞r.si]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [ˈmɛr.si]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈmɛɾ.si]

• Audio (Central):

  (file)

Interjection

merci

1. (colloquial) thank you

   Synonyms: gràcies, mercès

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French merci.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

merci

1. (chiefly Belgium or colloquial Netherlands) thank you

   Synonyms: dank, dank je, dank je wel, dank u, dank u wel, bedankt

Variants

• mercikes

Noun

merci f (plural mercis, diminutive mercikes n)

1. (chiefly Belgium or colloquial Netherlands) thank you

   Synonyms: dank, dankjewel, dankuwel

French

Etymology

From Middle French merci, mercy, from Old French merci, from Latin mercēdem (“wages, fee, price”).

Used as an interjection of gratitude since at least the early 12th century, originally as grand merci, for instance spelled granz merciz in Li coronemenz Looïs.

Pronunciation

• (Belgium, France) IPA^(key): /mɛʁ.si/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /maɛ̯ʁ.si/
• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): /mæ(ɾ).si/

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Homophone: mercis

Interjection

merci

1. thank you

   Merci pour ton aide.

   Thank you for your help.

Usage notes

• Also used to make a polite request by thanking in advance with the fixed formula (with infinitive construction):
  Merci de bien vouloir ...

  Thanks in advance if you would ...

  .

Derived terms

• Dieu merci
• merci beaucoup
• merci bien
• merci mille fois
• merci pour ton aide, merci pour votre aide
• non merci

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: mèsi
• Louisiana Creole: mèsi, mærsi
• Mauritian Creole: mersi
• Réunion Creole French: mèrsi
• → Alemannic German: merci
• → Arabic: مرسي (mersī, “thanks (colloquial)”)
• → Armenian: մերսի (mersi, “thanks (colloquial)”)
• → Bulgarian: мерси́ (mersí, “thanks (colloquial)”)
• → Catalan: merci
• → Dutch: merci
• → English: merci
• → German: merci
• → Japanese: メルシー (merushī)
• → Korean: 메르시 (mereusi)
• → Ladino: mersi
• → Luxembourgish: merci
• → Michif: marsii
• → Ottoman Turkish: مرسی (mersi), մէրսի (mersi) — Armeno-Turkish
  • Turkish: mersi
• → Persian: مرسی (mersi, “thanks (colloquial)”)
• → Romanian: mersi
• → Russian: мерси́ (mersí, “thanks (colloquial)”)

Noun

merci f (uncountable)

1. mercy

   Synonyms: miséricorde, pitié

2. grace

   Synonym: grâce

Derived terms

• à la merci de
• corvéable à merci, taillable et corvéable à merci
• sans merci

Noun

merci m (plural mercis)

1. thanks, an expression of gratitude, the word merci

Derived terms

• mille mercis
• un grand merci

Further reading

• “merci”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• cimer, crime

German

Etymology

Borrowed from French merci.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛʁˈsiː/
• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛʁ.si/ (Switzerland)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Interjection

merci

1. (chiefly Switzerland) thank you

   Synonyms: danke, danke schön, ich danke schön

Further reading

• “merci” in Duden online
• “merci”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛr.t͡ʃi/
• Rhymes: -ɛrtʃi
• Hyphenation: mèr‧ci

Noun

merci f

1. plural of merce

Anagrams

• cremi, crime

Latin

Noun

mercī

1. dative singular of merx

Norman

Alternative forms

• mercie (Guernsey)

Etymology

From Old French merci (“mercy; clemency”), from Latin mercēdem (“wages, fee, price”).

Interjection

merci

1. (Guernsey) thank you

Derived terms

• mercie bian (“thank you very much”)

Old French

Alternative forms

• mercit (archaic)
• merchit, merchi (northern)

Etymology

From Latin mercēdem.

Pronunciation

• (archaic) IPA^(key): /mɛɾˈt͡siθ/, (northern) /mɛɾˈt͡ʃiθ/
• (classical) IPA^(key): /mɛɾˈt͡si/, (northern) /mɛɾˈt͡ʃi/
• (late) IPA^(key): /mɛɾˈsi/, (northern) /mɛɾˈʃi/

Noun

merci oblique singular, f (no plural, nominative singular merci)

1. mercy; clemency
   • c. 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:

     Se vos metez an sa merci
     Nus (fors le conte qui est ci)
     de vos n'i a mort desservie
     ja ne perdroiz manbre ne vie

     If you throw yourselves on his mercy
     None (apart from the count who is here)
     of you deserve death;
     you will lose neither life nor limb

   • 13th century, Herman de Valenciennes, Assomption Nostre Dame, page 7, column 2, lines 16–17:

     ceo sacez m'amie tuit cil que te requerunt
     a tun commandement merci auvrunt

     this you know, my friend, that all those who are looking for you
     upon your command will have mercy

Descendants

• French: merci
• Norman: merci
• → Middle English: merci
  • English: mercy

References

• “merci”, in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, 2nd edition, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Aberystwyth University, 2001–2026.