philanthropy

  • 1Philanthropy —    Philanthropy was important in Byzantium (q.v.) both in theory and in practice. In theory, the emperor (q.v.), as God s viceroy on earth, was expected to set an example of Christian philanthropy. To this end, in major cities the state funded… …

    Historical dictionary of Byzantium

  • 2Philanthropy — Phi*lan thro*py, n. [L. philanthropia, Gr. ?: cf. F. philanthropie.] Love to mankind; benevolence toward the whole human family; universal good will; desire and readiness to do good to all men; opposed to misanthropy. Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3philanthropy — I noun almsgiving, altruism, beneficence, benevolence, benevolentia, benignancy, benignity, bounteousness, bountifulness, bounty, brotherhood, brotherliness, brotherly love, charitableness, charity, considerateness, consideration, devotion to… …

    Law dictionary

  • 4philanthropy — (n.) c.1600, from L.L. philanthropia, from Gk. philanthropia humanity, benevolence, from philanthropos (adj.) loving mankind, useful to man, from phil loving + anthropos mankind (see ANTHROPO (Cf. anthropo )). Originally in English in the Late… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5philanthropy — *charity Antonyms: misanthropy …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 6philanthropy — [n] humanitarianism alms, almsgiving, altruism, assistance, benefaction, beneficence, charity, contribution, dole, donation, endowment, fund, generosity, gifting, good works, helping hand*, relief; concepts 337,657 …

    New thesaurus

  • 7philanthropy — ► NOUN ▪ the desire to help others, especially through donation of money to good causes. DERIVATIVES philanthropic adjective philanthropically adverb. ORIGIN Greek philanthr pia, from philanthr pos man loving …

    English terms dictionary

  • 8philanthropy — [fə lan′thrə pē] n. [LL philanthropia < Gr philanthrōpia < philein, to love + anthrōpos, man: see ANTHROPO ] 1. a desire to help mankind, esp. as shown by gifts to charitable or humanitarian institutions; benevolence 2. pl. philanthropies a …

    English World dictionary

  • 9Philanthropy — Philanthropist redirects here. For the TV series, see The Philanthropist (TV series). For the academic journal, see The Philanthropist. Not to be confused with Anthropophilia. Philanthropy etymologically means the love of humanity love in the… …

    Wikipedia

  • 10PHILANTHROPY — Introduction At the close of the 18th century the communal system of fund raising for charity with authority vested in the charity overseers (Gabba ei Ẓedakah) – to tax members of the community in order to ensure appropriate giving – was on the… …

    Encyclopedia of Judaism