- Enter a word for the dictionary definition. From The
Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Charity \Char"i*ty\, n.; pl. Charities. [F. charit['e] fr. L.
caritas dearness, high regard, love, from carus dear, costly,
loved; asin to Skr. kam to wish, love, cf. Ir. cara a friend, W.
caru to love. Cf. Caress.] [1913 Webster] 1. Love; universal
benevolence; good will. [1913 Webster] Now abideth faith, hope,
charity, three; but the greatest of these is charity. --1. Cor.
xiii. 13. [1913 Webster] They, at least, are little to be
envied, in whose hearts the great charities . . . lie dead.
--Ruskin. [1913 Webster] With malice towards none, with charity
for all. --Lincoln. [1913 Webster] 2. Liberality in judging of
men and their actions; a disposition which inclines men to put
the best construction on the words and actions of others. [1913
Webster] The highest exercise of charity is charity towards the
uncharitable. --Buckminster. [1913 Webster] 3. Liberality to the
poor and the suffering, to benev