Bowels of Mercy
Preserved but no longer current.
Compassion, sympathy. The affections were at one time supposed to be the outcome of certain secretions or organs, as the bile, the kidneys, the heart, the head, the liver, the bowels, the spleen, and so on. Hence such words and phrases as melancholy (black bile); the Psalmist says that his reins* or kidneys, instructed him (Ps.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bowels of Mercy” mean?
Compassion, sympathy. The affections were at one time supposed to be the outcome of certain secretions or organs, as the bile, the kidneys, the heart, the head, the liver, the bowels, the spleen, and so on. Hence such words and phrases as melancholy (black bile); the Psalmist says that his reins* or kidneys, instructed him (Ps.
Is “Bowels of Mercy” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.