Meanings
noundonation (plural donations)
plural donations
- A voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause.
They were collecting donations for the elderly at Christmas.
1 more example
And some donation freely to estate On the bless'd lovers.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i] - The act of giving or bestowing; a grant.
After donation there is an absolute change and alienation of the property of the thing given.
1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna voluntary gift (as of money or service or ideas) made to some worthwhile cause
Similar
Broader
nounact of giving in common with others for a common purpose especially to a charity
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindōnātiō“a present”
- Middle Frenchdonation
- Middle Englishdonacion
- Englishdonation
From Middle English donacion, donation, from Middle French donation, from Latin dōnātiō (“a present”), from dōnō (“to give”), from dōnum (“a gift”). Recorded in English since the 15th century. Equivalent to donate + -ion.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans donasie, skenking
- donasiea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- skenkinga voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Arabic تَبَرُّع, هِبَة
- تَبَرُّع (tabarruʕ)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- هِبَة (hiba)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Bulgarian дарение, дар
- дарение (darenie)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- дар (dar)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- подаря́ване (podarjávane)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- дари́телство (darítelstvo)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Catalan donació, donatiu
- donacióa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- donatiua voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Chinese Mandarin 捐贈 /捐赠
- 捐贈 /捐赠 (juānzèng)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Czech dar
- dara voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Danish donation, gave
- donationa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- gavea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- bidraga voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Dutch schenking
- schenkinga voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Esperanto donaco
- donacoa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Estonian annetamine
- annetaminea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Finnish lahja, lahjoitus
- lahjaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- lahjoitusa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
French donation, don
- donationa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- dona voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
German Spende, Abgabe
- Spendea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- Abgabea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Greek δωρεά, συνεισφορά
- δωρεά (doreá)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- συνεισφορά (syneisforá)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- εισφορά (eisforá)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Hebrew תרומה
- תרומה (truma)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Hindi दान
- दान (dān)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Hungarian adomány, donáció
- adománya voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- donációa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Indonesian sumbangan, donasi
- sumbangana voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- donasia voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Italian donazione
- donazionea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Japanese 寄付
- 寄付 (kifu)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Korean 기부금
- 기부금 (gibugeum)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Latin stips, dōnātiō
- stipsa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- dōnātiōa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- condonatioa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Latvian dāvana
- dāvanaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Lithuanian dovana
- dovanaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Malay sumbangan, derma
- sumbangana voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- dermaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Norwegian Bokmål donasjon
- donasjona voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Persian دهش, داشن
- دهش (daheš)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- داشن (dâšan)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Polish dar, darowizna
- dara voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- darowiznaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- donacjaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- dateka voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Portuguese doação
- doaçãoa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Romanian donație
- donațiea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Russian поже́ртвование, дар
- поже́ртвование (požértvovanije)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- дар (dar)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- дона́т (donát)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Scottish Gaelic tiodhlac
- tiodhlaca voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Slovak date, darowizna
- datea voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- darowiznaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Spanish donación, donativo
- donacióna voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- donativoa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Swahili mchango
- mchangoa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Swedish donation
- donationa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Tamil நன்கொடை
- நன்கொடை (naṉkoṭai)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Turkish bağişlama, bağış
- bağişlamaa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- bağışa voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Ukrainian поже́ртва, поже́ртвування
- поже́ртва (požértva)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- поже́ртвування (požértvuvannja)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
- дар (dar)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Vietnamese sự tặng
- sự tặnga voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Welsh cyfraniad
- cyfraniada voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Yiddish בײַשטײַער
- בײַשטײַער (bayshtayer)a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with donation
informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
donation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/donation
MLA
“donation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/donation. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “donation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/donation.
Source: donation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.