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Concept
Charity (practice)
Summary
The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion.
The word charity originated in late Old English to mean a "Christian love of one's fellows", and up until at least the beginning of the 20th century, this meaning remained synonymous with charity. Aside from this original meaning, charity is etymologically linked to Christianity, with the word originally entering into the English language through the Old French word charité, which was derived from the Latin caritas, a word commonly used in the Vulgate New Testament to translate the Greek word agape (), a distinct form of love.
Charity (virtue)
Over time, the meaning of charity has evolved from one of "Christian love" to that of "providing for those in need; generosity and giving" (cf. offertory), a transition which began with the Old French word charité. Thus, while the older Douay-Rheims and King James versions of the Bible translate instances of agape (such as those that appear in 1 Corinthians 13) as "charity", modern English versions of the Bible typically translate agape as "love".
Alms
Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods, or time to the unfortunate, either directly or through a charitable trust or other worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as almsgiving or alms. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity; giving the recipients of it the means they need to survive. The impoverished, particularly those widowed or orphaned, and the ailing or injured, are generally regarded as proper recipients of charity. People who cannot support themselves and lack outside means of support sometimes become "beggars", directly soliciting aid from strangers encountered in public.
Some groups regard charity as best distributed towards other members of their particular group.
Official source
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