Charity Meaning
/ˈtʃæɹɪti/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.
nounThe goods or money given to those in need.
Sentence Examples
The generous dentist contributed some two billion yen to charity.
Charity begins at home.
He donated thousands of pounds to charity.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She donated all the proceeds from her art exhibition to a local ____ that supports homeless shelters.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The concert was organized to raise money for a local animal ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās. * The Tyndale Bible uses native English love instead.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”.[…]’."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"You go fuck yourself. You think I'm in this for charity?"
— 1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Leon (Bill Duke):
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5:
"By Gis and by Saint Charity, / Alack, and fie for shame!"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:
"Never did any woman better deserve her name, which was Charity — Aunt Charity, as everybody called her. And like a sister of charity did this charitable Aunt Charity bustle about hither and thither, ready to turn her hand and heart to anything that promised to yield safety, comfort, and consolation to all on board a ship in which her beloved brother Bildad was concerned, and in which she herself owned a score or two of well-saved dollars."
— 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 20, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She donated all the proceeds from her art exhibition to a local ____ that supports homeless shelters.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The concert was organized to raise money for a local animal ____.