Donate

a. [Lat. donare, donatum, from dare, to give.] To give; to grant; to bestow; as, to donate a sum of money. (American and modern. Not used in Engl.) Donatello, properly DONATO DI BELLO DI BARDI, One of the greatest Italian sculptors, B. at Florence, 1383. He enjoyed the patronage of the Grand-duke Cosmo I., executed many fine works at Florence and other cities of Italy, and carried the art to a degree of excellence which it had not previously reached in modern times. Among his best works are the statues of St. Mark, Da vid, St. John, and St. George; the group of Judith and Holofernes; the monuments of Pope John XXIII. and Cardinal Brancacci à Pieta; and an. Annunciation. D. 1466. Donation, (do-na's hun,) n. [Fr.; Lat. donatio , from do no , to give, from donum , a gift.) Act of presenting with, giving, bestowing, or granting. - That which is given, rendered, or bestowed; a benefaction; a gift; a present; as, a donation for charitable purposes. (Law.) Act or contract by which a thing, or the use of it, is transferred to a person or corporation as a free gift; as, a letter of donation . Donation party . In the U. States, a party a embled at the residence of a particular person, to present him individually with gifts as a token of esteem. Dona'tion, in Pennsylvania , a P. O. of Hunting don co. Dona'ti's Comet. ( Astron .) A brilliant comet, discovered at Florence by an Italian astronomer named Donati, early in June, 1858, when it was supposed to be nearly 230,000,000 of miles distant from the earth. It became visible to the naked eye in the beginning of the September following, reaching its perihelion about the 30th of that month. It reached the point in its orbit nearest to the earth on Oct. 10, when the diameter of its head appeared to be about 100,000 miles, and that of the nucleus 800 miles. When it first became visible without the aid of a telescope, its tail appeared to be 14,000,000 of miles in length. This gradually increased to 51,000,000 on Oct. 10, when the tail seemed to cover an arc of 40°; but as it went away from the earth, the length of this part of the comet diminished with greater apparent rapidity than it had previously increased.