Alms
[ɑːmz]
Definition
(n. sing. & pl.) Anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money, food, or clothing; a gift of charity.
Typed by Ernestine
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Charity, benefaction, gift, charitable donation, eleemosynary aid.
Checked by Felicia
Definition
n. relief given out of pity to the poor.—ns. Alms′-deed a charitable deed; Alms′-drink (Shak.) leavings of drink; Alms′-fee an annual tax of one penny on every hearth formerly sent from England to Rome Peter's pence; Alms′house a house endowed for the support and lodging of the poor; Alms′-man a man who lives by alms.
Checked by Alden
Unserious Contents or Definition
Alms will bring evil if given or taken unwillingly. Otherwise, a good dream.
Typed by Alphonse
Examples
- This is some very old inscription, existing perhaps long before the ancient alms-houses in this place. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- By the way, it will suit you, Dorothea; for the cottages are like a row of alms-houses--little gardens, gilly-flowers, that sort of thing. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- A poor prisoner, fed on alms and broken victuals; a squalid, disgraced wretch! Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Some people say we shouldn't give alms to the poor, Shirley. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- They live on alms altogether, I believe. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Checked by Gerald