Any connection [with the Latin word alms]?

Yes, the English word is a borrowing from the Latin which in turn was borrowed from the Greek: Old English ælmesse < Late Latin eleēmosyna < Greek ελεημοσυνη (eleēmosunē) 'pity, charity' < ελεημων (eleēmōn) 'pitiful' < ελεος (eleos) 'pity'. The etymology of the Greek word is uncertain, but it may be related to Old Icelandic jálmr 'noise'.





Ceci n'est pas un seing.