Big ship linked to eastern charity (8)
I believe the answer is:
largesse
'charity' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'big ship linked to eastern' is the wordplay.
'big' becomes 'large' (synonyms).
'ship' becomes 'ss'.
'linked to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'eastern' becomes 'e'.
'large'+'ss'+'e'='LARGESSE'
(Other definitions for largesse that I've seen before include "Eelgrass (anag.)" , "Generous giving" , "charity" , "Generosity in gift-giving" , "Generous offering" .)