Just read, Spelsberg, Steinfurt 2021:
Mercy (Barmherzigkeit) obviously needs contact: It derives from the Old High German barm for „womb“ or „bosom“, as a verb: „to bear“, „to hold“, „to preserve“, „to cherish“, „to care for“, „to nourish“. And it suggests this nurturing to us: Barm-herzig.
Mercy is not a deliberation, not a conscious decision. It comes directly from the heart. The fact that mercy (Barmherzigkeit) is etymologically closely related to „womb“(Gebären) emphasises the life-enabling and life-giving power and dimension of mercy.