A woman's charitable organization or society dedicated to helping the poor and needy, named after a biblical figure.
From Dorcas (also called Tabitha), a Christian woman in the New Testament known for her charity and good works, mentioned in Acts 9:36. The name became synonymous with charitable groups from the 1800s onward.
Churches formed 'Dorcas societies' across America and Europe in the 1800s-1900s to help the poor—it's an example of how a biblical name became so famous for kindness that people used it as a label for charity itself!
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