An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/barmherzig

by Friedrich Kluge

barmherzig, adjective, ‘compassionate,’ from the equivalent Middle High German barmherzic; related to Modern High German and Middle High German erbarmen, Old High German barmên. This stem has been connected with a Teutonic word barm, ‘bosom’ (English barm, from Anglo-Saxon bearm, Gothic barms, Old High German and Old Low German barm, Middle High German barm, masculine); hence erbarmen means literally ‘to cherish in one‘s bosom, press to one‘s heart.’ Perhaps the equivalent Gothic arman, ‘to move to pity,’ and armaiô, ‘compassion,’ stand in a similar relation to Arm, the literal meaning of the verb being ‘to take in one‘s arms, cherish.’ Others, however, are of opinion that erbarmen contains a b derived from bi (like bange, derived from bi-ange), so that it would be more akin to Gothic arman. But in that case either a secondary meaning, ‘misericors,’ in addition to ‘miser,’ must be assumed for Teutonic arm, for which there is no support; or we must regard it as an imitation of a Latin-Christ. term, Gothic arman, from arms, like Latin misereri, from miser; indeed Old High German armherzi, ‘misericors,’ and irbarmherzida (Gothic armahaírtiþa), ‘misericordia,’ render it certain that Christianity coined the words to express a Latin-Christ. idea; compare Demut, Gnade, &c.