Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Misericordia \Mis`e*ri*cor"di*a\, n. [L., mercy, compassion;
   miser wretched + cor, cordis, heart.]
   1. (O. Law) An amercement. --Burrill.

   2. (Anc. Armor.) A thin-bladed dagger; so called, in the
      Middle Ages, because used to give the death wound or
      ``mercy'' stroke to a fallen adversary.

   3. (Eccl.) An indulgence as to food or dress granted to a
      member of a religious order. --Shipley.