In order to fully understand the meaning of the term mercy, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, it must be emphasized that it comes from Latin, exactly from the word “merces”, which can be translated as “reward” or “payment”.
The first meaning of mercy that is included in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to the reward or prize that is granted for work. The term, in ancient times, was used to refer to the gift that a lord or a king gave to a subject.
The grant, in this framework, was a donation and not the payment of a contract. It could consist of a jurisdictional lordship or money , for example.
It is also called a favor or a concession made to another individual. In this case, the concept is not linked to a relationship of subordination, but rather to equal treatment.
Another use of the notion of mercy is associated with the will of a subject . In this way, anyone who finds themselves at the mercy of a person is subject to their discretion . For example: “I am at the mercy of my boss to know when I can take vacations” , “The tie was at the mercy of the Polish striker but the experienced player deflected his shot with the free goal” , “I'm tired of being at the mercy yours!" .
Precisely, the famous Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, a current reference in Latin trap and reggaeton, has a song titled “A tu merced.” This was released in 2020 and is part of the album titled “YHLQMDLG”.
However, there are other singles that have the term in question in their titles. A good example of this is the song “A merced”, which was published in 1993 and was composed and performed by the Argentine artist Gustavo Cerati. Specifically, he shaped it for his first record album, which is called “Yellow Love.”
It is a love song that was created for his then partner, the Chilean model and artist Cecilia Amenábar.
On the other hand, the Virgin of Mercy , also known as Our Lady of Mercy (or Mercedes ), is a Marian devotion. Its origins date back to August 1, 1218 , when Mary made her appearance - separately - to Saint Raymond of Peñafort , Saint Peter Nolasco and King James I of Aragon . These three men met several days after the event and discussed the experience with each other: the Virgin asked them all to create a religious order aimed at the redemption of captives.
In addition to what is indicated, we must not overlook the existence of Merced County, which is one of the 58 that make up the state of California. Its main city responds precisely to the name of Merced.
This county was founded in 1855, with a population of more than 210,000 inhabitants. It has an approximate area of 5,100 square kilometers and has other significant cities such as Livingston, Dos Palos, Atwater or Gustine, for example.