Other forms: charities
A charity is an organisation that raises money to help people or causes in need. A children's charity, give to charity, work for a charity.
In Britain charities are registered and regulated, and charity shop, charity run and charity number are all everyday phrases. The uncountable noun means the giving itself: live on charity, out of charity. The older meaning is kindness in judging others — a lack of charity in the way it was reported — which survives in formal writing and in the King James phrase about faith, hope and charity. Note charitable, which carries both senses too.
1nouncharityAn organisation that collects money to help people in need.
“She runs marathons to raise money for a cancer charity.”
2noungivenMoney or help given to those in need.
“He refused to take charity from anybody.”
3nounkindnessKindness in judging other people.
“There was not much charity in the review.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
charity is giving or kindness.
Latin caritas meant dearness or love, from carus, dear — the same root as cherish and the French cher. Charity was Christian love first and organised giving much later, which is why an uncharitable remark has nothing to do with money.
Proto-Indo-European
*keh₂-
Latin
cāritās
Old French
charité
Middle English
charite
English, today
charity
From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA