beggar
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old French begart, originally a member of the Beghards, a lay brotherhood of mendicants in the Low Countries, from Middle Dutch beggaert (“mendicant”), with pejorative suffix; the order is said to be named after the priest Lambert le Bègue of Liège (French for “Lambert the Stammerer”). Others claim it is from Middle English beggere or beggare, from beggen (“to beg”) + -are (“-er”) (Modern English beg).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
beggar (plural beggars)
- A person who begs.
- 1983, Stanley Rosen, Plato’s Sophist: The Drama of Original & Image, St. Augustine’s Press, p. 62:
- Odysseus has returned to his home disguised as a beggar.
- 1983, Stanley Rosen, Plato’s Sophist: The Drama of Original & Image, St. Augustine’s Press, p. 62:
- A person suffering from extreme poverty.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:
- I'm to be a poor, crawling beggar, sponging for rum, when I might be rolling in a coach!
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:
Synonyms [edit]
- (who begs): mendicant, panhandler, schnorrer, spanger, truant
- (extremely poor person): palliard, pauper, vagabond
Derived terms [edit]
terms derived from beggar (noun)
Translations [edit]
person who begs
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person suffering poverty
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Translations to be checked
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Verb [edit]
beggar (third-person singular simple present beggars, present participle beggaring, simple past and past participle beggared) (transitive)
- To make a beggar of someone; impoverish.
- To exhaust the resources of; to outdo.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
terms derived from beggar (verb)
Translations [edit]
to make a beggar of someone
to exhaust the resources of
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