altruism
noun
Matthew JacobsDave Roos
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Altruism Has Roots in Latin and French
Altruism refers to a quality possessed by people whose focus is on something other than themselves, and its root reveals the object of those generous tendencies. Altruism derives from the French word autrui, meaning "other people." Autrui, in turn, developed from the Old French term autre, which means "other" and which itself comes from Latin alter, also meaning "other." That Latin source eventually caused a curious thing to happen. Under the influence of alter, the French autrui gave rise to the altrui- of both the French altruisme and the English altruism. The English term has been in service since at least the mid-1800s.
Examples of altruism in a Sentence
W. Andrew Achenbaum, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2006
Mary may have ample resources and prefer that her share pass to her children who have greater need and are in lower income tax brackets. (The progressive nature of our tax laws often fosters such altruism among family members.)
—William M. McGovern, Jr. et al., Wills, Trusts and Estates, 1988
And he still chokes up when he tells the story. Even at that young age, he understood that what his aunt was doing for him was the purest act of altruism.
—Gail Sheehy, New York Times Magazine, 20 Apr. 1986
Max Tani, semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025
Robin Hood replaces the character’s intrinsic altruism with a persistent adolescent selfishness.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025
Perhaps most importantly, researchers need to rethink how altruism is understood.
—Stylianos Syropoulos, The Conversation, 2 Dec. 2025
What are some pop culture examples of altruism?
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for altruism
Cite this Entry
“Altruism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altruism. Accessed 11 Dec. 2025.
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altruism
noun
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