Loving-kindness (or "lovingkindness") is a term coined by Myles Coverdale for his Coverdale Bible of 1535,[1][2] as an English translation of the Hebrew word chesed (which appears in the Latin Vulgate as "misericordia"); in that text it is spelled "louinge kyndnesse". It is also used in this sense in the American Standard Version and various other versions of the Bible.[3] It is sometimes associated with the Greek term agape. This term is used often in the book of Psalms, and refers to acts of kindness, motivated by love. It is used primarily to describe God, rather than people.
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Loving-kindness is also used as an English equivalent for the Buddhist term Mettā, as described in the Metta Sutta of the Pali Canon's Sutta Nipata (Sn 1.8) and Khuddakapatha (Khp 9), and practiced in Loving kindness meditation.
English translations of the writings of the Bahá'í Faith often use the term loving-kindness when referring to the original Persian mohabbat. This is in line with the style chosen by Shoghi Effendi to use a slightly archaic form of English.[4]