misericord

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
misericord /mɪˈzɛrɪkɔːd/

▶noun

• 1 a ledge projecting from the underside of a hinged seat in a choir stall, giving support to someone standing when the seat is folded up.

• 2 historical an apartment in a monastery in which some relaxations of discipline were permitted.

• 3 historical a small dagger for delivering a death stroke to a wounded enemy.

– origin ME (denoting pity): from OFr. misericorde, from L. misericordia, from misericors ‘compassionate’, from the stem of misereri ‘to pity’ + cor, cord- ‘heart’.