destitution

English

WOTD - 23 May 2011    

Etymology

From French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiōnem (“abandoning”), from dēstituere.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dɛstɪtjuːʃ(ə)n/, /dɛstɪˈtʃuːʃ(ə)n/

Noun

destitution (plural destitutions)

1. (obsolete) The action of deserting or abandoning.
2. (now rare) Discharge from office; dismissal.
3. The condition of lacking something.
   • 1906, ‘Mark Twain’, in The Bible According to Mark Twain, 1996, p. 330:

     He requires of his fellow man obedience to a very creditable code of morals, but he observes without shame or disapproval his God's utter destitution of morals.

4. An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.
   • 2009, Rahila Gupta, The Guardian, 4 Aug 2009:

     Destitution forces many asylum seekers to end up working for extremely low wages in catering, cleaning and construction, for example, without any protection against unscrupulous employers.

Related terms

• destitute

Translations

condition of lacking sthg

Finnish: puute (fi)

extreme state of poverty

Bulgarian: мизерия (bg) f. Catalan: indigència (ca) f. Finnish: varattomuus (fi), äärimmäinen köyhyys (fi) German: Armut (de) f.

Greek: ένδεια (el) f., απορία (el) f. Russian: нужда (ru) f., нищета (ru) f. Spanish: indigencia (es) Swedish: armod (sv)

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēstitūtiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɛstitysjɔ̃/

Noun

destitution f. (plural destitutions)

1. discharge, dismissal
2. deposition (of a politician etc.)