Definition: To give alms was to give relief, a service usually connected to religious obligation. Alms could be money, food, cloth, tallow, or any other useful items that were distributed to the poor, sick or needy. In religious establishments and manor houses, alms were usually gathered by an almoner, and were sometimes distributed in a special room by the church known as an almonry.
Examples:
Every night at the manor house, after the evening meal, Mistress McGivver saw to it that the leftover food was gathered up to give as alms to Old Raymond and his beggar friends.
