charity school

American  

noun

U.S. History.

1. an elementary school, usually funded by charitable persons or organizations, for those unable to pay: a forerunner of the public-school system.

---

Etymology

Origin of charity school

First recorded in 1675–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charity school

Jane and Maria’s education consisted of a few years at a charity school, but both were avid readers and precocious writers.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022

Now in his mid-thirties, he runs a charity school.

From Reuters ● Aug. 8, 2018

The University of Pennsylvania, as its website states, was established by evangelist George Whitefield as a “Philadelphia charity school that would double as a house of worship for his followers.”

From Washington Times ● Feb. 24, 2018

She was also able to preserve catch-up contributions to retirement accounts for church, charity, school, and public employees.

From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2017

Among the children in a charity school sat a little Jewish girl.

From What the Moon Saw: and Other Tales by H. W. (Henry William) Dulcken