Noun

(archaic)  Christian love; representing God's love of man, man's love of God, or man's love of his fellow-men.

In general, an attitude of kindness and understanding towards others, now especially suggesting generosity.

Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou will judge others with the judgment of charity . — John Mitchell Mason

(uncountable)  Benevolence to others less fortunate than ourselves; the providing of goods or money to those in need.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=6 citation , passage=‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.}}

(countable)  The goods or money given to those in need.

(countable)  An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.

Noun

A charity event in which participants eat as much as possible.

(slang) A large feast or pigout.

* 1982 , Barbara Zara, Erin McHugh, I left my fat behind (page 14)

So I gave myself a week's reprieve and started another eatathon .

* 1983 , Texas Monthly (volume 11, number 3, March 1983, page 49)

Our recommendation is to tote the excess home in a doggie bag so you can indulge in the dessert, the Queen of Sheba, an eatathon consisting of a rich chocolate base, mounds of whipped cream, and a guilt complex.

* 1992 , Sue Gebo, What's left to eat? (page 151)

Typically, Americans eat a very substantial portion of the day's calories at the evening meal, and then continue an evening "eatathon" in front of the tube.