alimony

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alimony

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Known since the 17th century, from Latin alimōnia (“food, support, nourishment, sustenance”) (English aliment, as in alimentary), itself from alō (“to nourish”) + -mōnia (“action, state, condition”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.ə.moʊ.ni/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

alimony (countable and uncountable, plural alimonies)

1. (law, sometimes derogatory) A court-mandated allowance made to a former spouse by a divorced or legally separated person.

   Synonym: maintenance

   • 1938 November 11, Westbrook Pegler, “Fair Enough”, in The Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, Florida, retrieved 20 December 2008, page A1:

     In that case he has to pay her alimony even if there are no children, and if she is one of those smart ones, interested in nothing but a good living and independence, she is set for life.

   • 1985, Joel Schumacher, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire (motion picture), spoken by Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy):

     Who won, huh? Nobody. Used to be sex was the only free thing, No longer. Alimony… palimony… it's all financial. Love is an illusion.

   • 2002, James A. Abrahamson, Confessions of a Diplomatic Pouch Clerk, page 192:

     Audball's latest pickup didn't seem to care where they were, or anything at all about alimony, palimony, or child support […]

2. (obsolete) Nourishment, sustenance, especially for one's spirit.
   • 1626, Sampson Price, Londons remembrancer: for the staying of the contagious sicknes of the plague by Dauids memoriall, pages 27–28:

     […] while we eate the bread of sorrow, drinking the wine of compunction, wee hunger and thirst after heauenly things, and shall be comforted. This is the constant alimonie of the righteous, at dinner and supper, in life and death […]

   • 1633, John Randal, Noble Blastus the honor of a lord chamberlaine: and of a good bed-chamber-man: or The courtier justified in conditions of peace, pages 32–33:

     […] What marvell if our corne faile us, when wee faile God in the good employment of our corne? […] So that drunkennesse, gluttony, fraud, covetisme, the unworthy receiving, or not receiving of the Sacraments, and a million more are all in cause, why God denies this fruitfull alimonie, which formerlie he gave. And doe we then aske what is the cause? when as our sinnes so superabundant are.

   • 1653, Anthropometamorphosis: man transform'd; or, the artificial changeling‎, →OCLC, page 308:

     […] having the advantage of this strange way of alimony, he sold his allowance of provant at great rates; […]

In the United States, the term alimony can be considered politically incorrect, with favor for terms like spousal support.

• aliment
• alimentary

• → Welsh: alimoni

• child support

• “alimony”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “alimony, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “alimony”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “alimony”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “alimony” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

• Molniya