a Christian charitable society for women with the aim of providing clothes for poor people
Dorcas society in American English
noun
a society of women of a church whose work it is to provide clothing for the poor
Word origin
[1825–35; named after dorcas]This word is first recorded in the period 1825–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: archaic, breakdown, individualism, panda, spiritualism