charity

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Provision of help or relief to the poor; almsgiving.
• noun Something given to help the needy; alms.
• noun An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy.
• noun Benevolence or generosity toward others or toward humanity.
• noun Indulgence or forbearance in judging others. synonym: mercy.
• noun Christianity The theological virtue defined as love directed first toward God but also toward oneself and one's neighbors as objects of God's love.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In New Testament usage, love, in its highest and broadest manifestation.
• noun In a general sense, the good affections men ought to feel toward one another; good will.
• noun Specifically Benevolence; liberality in relieving the wants of others; philanthropy.
• noun Any act of kindness or benevolence; a good deed in behalf of another: as, it would be a charity to refrain from criticizing him.
• noun Specifically Alms; anything bestowed gratuitously on a person or persons in need.
• noun Liberality or allowance in judging others and their actions; a disposition inclined to favorable judgments.
• noun A charitable institution; a foundation for the relief of a certain class of persons by alms, education, or care; especially, a hospital.
• noun In law, a gift in trust for promoting the welfare of the community or of mankind at large, or some indefinite part of it, as an endowment for a public hospital, school, church, or library, as distinguished from a gift which, being for the benefit of particular persons, gives them a right to its enjoyment.
• noun Synonyms Liberality, Generosity, etc. (see beneficence), indulgence, forbearance.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun Love; universal benevolence; good will.
• noun 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.
• noun Liberality to the poor and the suffering, to benevolent institutions, or to worthy causes; generosity.
• noun Whatever is bestowed gratuitously on the needy or suffering for their relief; alms; any act of kindness.
• noun A charitable institution, or a gift to create and support such an institution.
• noun (Law) Eleemosynary appointments [grants or devises] including relief of the poor or friendless, education, religious culture, and public institutions.
• noun (R. C. Ch.) a sisterhood of religious women engaged in works of mercy, esp. in nursing the sick; -- a popular designation. There are various orders of the Sisters of Charity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun archaic Christian love; representing God's love of man, man's love of God, or man's love of his fellow-men.
• noun In general, an attitude of kindness and understanding towards others, now especially suggesting generosity.
• noun uncountable Benevolence to others less fortunate than ourselves; the providing of goods or money to those in need.
• noun countable The goods or money given to those in need.
• noun countable An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an institution set up to provide help to the needy
• noun an activity or gift that benefits the public at large
• noun a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
• noun pinnate-leaved European perennial having bright blue or white flowers
• noun a kindly and lenient attitude toward people