/ ˈtʃærətəbl; NAmE / adjective
1.
connected with a charity or charities :
a charitable institution / foundation / trust
a charitable donation / gift
( BrE )
to have charitable status (= to be an official charity)
2.
helping people who are poor or in need :
His later years were devoted largely to charitable work .
3.
kind in your attitude to other people, especially when you are judging them :
Let's be charitable and assume she just made a mistake.
OPP uncharitable
► char·it·ably / -bli; NAmE / adverb :
Try to think about him a little more charitably.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense showing Christian love to God and man ): from Old French , from charite , from Latin caritas , from carus dear.