What does donee mean?
A donee is a person who receives something given — most commonly a gift or donation, and, in legal contexts, an interest in property conveyed by another party. The word is the natural counterpart to 'donor': one party gives, the other receives. In everyday charitable language, a donee might be the organization benefiting from a bequest or the individual receiving a donated organ or asset. In law, the term carries more precision: the donee is the person to whom a deed, power of attorney, or other conveyance is made, and their rights are defined by the instrument that created them. Because it belongs largely to formal, legal, and financial registers, 'donee' seldom appears in casual speech, but it is indispensable wherever gifts must be described precisely — tax documents, wills, trusts, and charity records all rely on it. Knowing the donor–donee pairing makes legal and philanthropic texts far easier to read.
nounA person who receives a gift or donation; in legal usage, the recipient of a deed, power, or property transferred by a donor.
- A person who receives a gift or donation (general and charitable usage).
- In law, the person to whom a deed, power, or interest in property is conveyed by a donor.
"The charity acted as donee of the substantial bequest left in the will."
"As the donee of the scholarship fund, she was deeply moved by the donors' generosity."
"Under the trust instrument, the donee holds the power of appointment for the benefit of her descendants."
Regular plural, used when referring to multiple recipients of gifts or grants.
"The foundation notifies all donees before publishing its annual report."
In law, every gift needs two named parties — and while 'donor' is household vocabulary, its mirror image 'donee' quietly does the other half of the job.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of donee
'Donee' comes from the Latin root 'donare', meaning 'to give', via the Anglo-Norman and Old French past participle 'doné', meaning 'given'. English formed it on the same pattern as words like 'lessee' and 'trustee', using the '-ee' suffix to denote the person on the receiving end of an action. It shares that Latin origin with related terms such as 'donate', 'donation', and 'donor'.
How donee is actually used
Formal to legal register; rare in everyday conversation. Common in charity administration, tax, and property law contexts, where it pairs with 'donor' as its counterpart.
Easily confused with donee
The donor is the person who gives or transfers the gift or property, while the donee is the person who receives it.