Almoner

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Almoner \Al"mon*er\ ([a^]l"m[u^]n*[~e]r), n. [OE. aumener,
     aulmener, OF. almosnier, aumosnier, F. aum[^o]nier, fr. OF.
     almosne, alms, L. eleemosyna. See {Alms}.]
     1. One who distributes alms, esp. the doles and alms of
        religious houses, almshouses, etc.; also, one who
        dispenses alms for another, as the almoner of a prince,


        bishop, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A social worker in a hospital. [Chiefly Brit.]
        [PJC]
  
     3. An official in a hospital whose job it is to calculate how
        much a patient must pay for treatment. [Chiefly Brit.]
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  almoner
       n : an official in a British hospital who looks after the social
           and material needs of the patients [syn: {medical social
           worker}]