How to pronounce alms

1 : something (such as money or food) given freely to relieve the poor distributing alms to the needy. 2 archaic : charity.

Guillotine Despite the oft-heard GEE-uh-teen, this word is traditionally pronounced GILL-uh-teen. In the early 19th century, Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language called for the l’s to be pronounced. The word is properly pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable.