Part 1811

<hw>Char"i*ta*ble</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt><ety>[F. See <er>Charity</er>.]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>Full of love and good will; benevolent; kind.</def>

<blockquote>Be thy intents wicked or <b>charitable</b>, . . . . . . I will speak to thee. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Liberal in judging of others; disposed to look on the best side, and to avoid harsh judgment.</def>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Liberal in benefactions to the poor; giving freely; generous; beneficent.</def>

<blockquote>What <b>charitable</b> men afford to beggars. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>Of or pertaining to charity; springing from, or intended for, charity; relating to almsgiving; elemosynary; <as>as, a <ex>charitable</ex> institution</as>.</def>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>Dictated by kindness; favorable; lenient.</def>

<blockquote>By a <b>charitable</b> construction it may be a sermon. <i>L. Andrews.</i></blockquote>

<syn>Syn. -- Kind; beneficent; benevolent; generous; lenient; forgiving; helpful; liberal; favorable; indulgent.</syn>

<h1>Charitableness</h1> <Xpage=241>

<hw>Char"i*ta*ble*ness</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>The quality of being charitable; the exercise of charity.</def>

<h1>Charitably</h1> <Xpage=241>

<hw>Char"i*ta*bly</hw>, <tt>adv.</tt> <def>In a charitable manner.</def>

<h1>Charity</h1> <Xpage=241>

<hw>Char"i*ty</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt>; <plu>pl. <plw>Charities</plw> <tt>(#)</tt>.</plu> <ety>[F. <ets>charit\'82</ets> fr. L. <ets>caritas</ets> dearness, high regard, love, from <ets>carus</ets> dear, costly, loved; asin to Skr. <ets>kam</ets> to wish, love, cf. Ir. <ets>cara</ets> a friend, W. <ets>caru</ets> to love. Cf. <er>Caress</er>.]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>Love; universal benevolence; good will.</def> <def> <blockquote>Now abideth faith, hope, <b>charity</b>, three; but the greatest of these is <b>charity</b>. <i>1. Cor. xiii. 13.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>They, at least, are little to be envied, in whose hearts the great <b>charities</b> . . . lie dead. <i>Ruskin.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>With malice towards none, with <b>charity</b> for all. <i>Lincoln.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>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.</def>

<blockquote>The highest exercise of <b>charity</b> is <b>charity</b> towards the uncharitable. <i>Buckminster.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Liberality to the poor and the suffering, to benevolent institutions, or to worthy causes; generosity.</def>

<blockquote>The heathen poet, in commending the <b>charity</b> of Dido to the Trojans, spake like a Christian. <i>Dryden.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>Whatever is bestowed gratuitously on the needy or suffering for their relief; alms; any act of kindness.</def>

<blockquote>She did ill then to refuse her a <b>charity</b>. <i>L'Estrange.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>A charitable institution, or a gift to create and support such an institution; <as>as, Lady Margaret's <ex>charity</ex></as>.</def>

<p><b>6.</b> <pluf>pl.</pluf> <fld>(Law)</fld> <def>Eleemosynary appointments [grants or devises] including relief of the poor or friendless, education, religious culture, and public institutions.</def>

<blockquote>The <b>charities</b> that soothe, and heal, and bless, Are scattered at the feet of man like flowers. <i>Wordsworth.</i></blockquote>