jamie's wanderings

mercy , charity , clemency , grace , leniency mean a disposition to show kindness or compassion. mercy implies compassion that forbears punishing even when justice demands it mercy of the court>. This is part of the formal definition from Webster's dictionary. I've been thinking about some terms that we throw around easily as human beings, and we hold to them certain connotations that aren't always included in Webster's dictionary. But being the linguist I am, I wanted to go back and look at a few terms. These two definitions struck me as interesting, especially since words like mercy, justice and peace have dominated some conversations I've had lately. Justice 1 a : the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments b : judge c : the administration of law ; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rul...