poverty

English

Etymology

From Middle English poverte, from Old French poverté (Modern French pauvreté), from Latin paupertās, from pauper (“poor”) + -tas (“noun of state suffix”). Cognates include pauper, poor.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒvəti/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːvɚti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

poverty (usually uncountable, plural poverties)

1. The quality or state of being poor; lack of money
   • 2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 407, number 8838, page 11:

     America’s poverty line is $63 a day for a family of four. In the richer parts of the emerging world $4 a day is the poverty barrier. But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.

2. A deficiency of something needed or desired

   poverty of soil

   poverty of the blood

   poverty of spirit

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:poverty

Antonyms

• See also Thesaurus:wealth

Derived terms

• digital poverty
• energy poverty
• fuel poverty
• period poverty
• poverty grass
• poverty is a mindset
• poverty is a state of mind
• poverty line
• poverty of the stimulus
• poverty porn
• poverty-ridden
• poverty-stricken
• poverty trap
• primary poverty
• secondary poverty
• transport poverty

 

Related terms

• impoverish
• poor
• poorness

Translations

quality or state of being poor

• Albanian: varfëri (sq) f
• Arabic: فَقْر‎ (ar) m (faqr)

  Egyptian Arabic: فقر‎ m (faʔr)

• Armenian: աղքատություն (hy) (aġkʿatutʿyun)
• Asturian: probeza f
• Azerbaijani: yoxsulluq (az), kasıblıq, səfalət
• Bashkir: ярлылыҡ (yarlılıq), фәҡирлек (fäqirlek)
• Belarusian: бедната́ f (bjednatá), бе́днасць f (bjédnascʹ), убо́ства n (ubóstva), гале́ча f (haljéča), гало́та f (halóta), нэ́ндза f (néndza), бядно́та f (bjadnóta), бядо́та f (bjadóta)
• Bengali: দারিদ্র্য (bn) (daridrjo)
• Bulgarian: бе́дност (bg) f (bédnost), нищета́ (bg) f (ništetá), мизе́рия (bg) f (mizérija), немоти́я (bg) f (nemotíja), сиромаши́я (bg) f (siromašíja)
• Burmese: ဆင်းရဲခြင်း (hcang:rai:hkrang:)
• Catalan: pobresa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 貧窮／贫穷 (pan⁴ kung⁴)

  Mandarin: 貧窮／贫穷 (zh) (pínqióng), 貧困／贫困 (zh) (pínkùn)

• Classical Nahuatl: icnōpillōtl, icnōtlācayōtl, icnōyōtl
• Corsican: puvertà (co) f, puvartà (co) f
• Czech: chudoba (cs) f
• Danish: fattigdom (da) c, armod (da) c
• Dutch: armoede (nl) f
• Esperanto: malriĉeco
• Estonian: vaesus
• Finnish: köyhyys (fi), puute (fi)
• French: pauvreté (fr) f
• Friulian: puaretât f
• Galician: pobreza (gl) f
• Georgian: სიღარიბე (siɣaribe), სიდუხჭირე (siduxč̣ire), სიღატაკე (siɣaṭaḳe)
• German: Armut (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌻𐌴𐌳𐌹 n (unlēdi)
• Greek: φτώχια (el) f (ftóchia), αδεκαρία (el) f (adekaría)

  Ancient: πενία f (penía)

• Gujarati: ગરીબાઈ f (garībāī), દળદર n (daḷdar)
• Hebrew: עוני \ עֹנִי \ עֳנִי‎ (he) m ('óni / 'oní), דַּלּוּת‎ f (dalut)
• Hindi: ग़रीबी f (ġarībī)
• Hungarian: szegénység (hu), nyomorúság (hu), nincstelenség (hu)
• Hunsrik: Aarmut f
• Icelandic: fátækt (is) f
• Ido: povreso (io)
• Indonesian: kemiskinan (id)
• Interlingua: povressa
• Irish: bochtaineacht f
• Italian: povertà (it) f
• Japanese: 貧乏 (ja) (びんぼう, bimbō), 貧困 (ja) (ひんこん, hinkon)
• Kannada: ಬಡತನ (kn) (baḍatana)
• Kazakh: кедейлік (kedeilık), жарлылық (jarlylyq)
• Khmer: ភាពក្រ (phiəp krɑɑ)
• Korean: 가난 (ko) (ganan), 빈곤(貧困) (ko) (bin'gon)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ھەژاری‎ (hejarî)

  Northern Kurdish: xizanî (ku), hejarî (ku), feqîrî (ku)

• Kyrgyz: кедейлик (ky) (kedeylik), жакырчылык (ky) (jakırçılık)
• Ladino: provedad
• Lao: ຄວາມທຸກຍາກ (lo) (khuām thuk nyāk)
• Latin: paupertās f, pauperiēs f
• Latvian: nabadzība f
• Lithuanian: skurdas m
• Macedonian: сиромаштија f (siromaštija)
• Malay: kemiskinan
• Malayalam: ദാരിദ്ര്യം (ml) (dāridryaṁ)
• Maltese: faqar m
• Maore Comorian: usikini class 11
• Maori: pōharatanga, tuakokatanga, hāhoretanga, hahoretanga
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: ядуурал (mn) (jaduural)

  Mongolian: ᠶᠠᠳᠠᠭᠤᠷᠠᠯ (yadaɣural)

• Navajo: téʼéʼį́
• Ndzwani Comorian: shizaya
• Ngazidja Comorian: umasikini class 11
• Norman: pouôrreté
• Norwegian: armod m

  Bokmål: fattigdom (no) m

  Nynorsk: fattigdom m

• Occitan: pauretat (oc)
• Old English: iermþu f
• Oromo: hiyyummaa
• Pashto: فقيري‎ f (faqirí), فقر‎ (ps) m (faqr)
• Persian: فقر‎ (fa) (faqr)
• Plautdietsch: Oamoot f
• Polish: bieda (pl) f, ubóstwo (pl) n, niedostatek (pl) m
• Portuguese: pobreza (pt) f
• Quechua: muchuy, usuy
• Romanian: sărăcie (ro) f, mizerie (ro) f, paupertate (ro) f
• Russian: бе́дность (ru) f (bédnostʹ), нищета́ (ru) f (niščetá), нужда́ (ru) f (nuždá), беднота́ (ru) f (bednotá)
• Scots: puirtith
• Scottish Gaelic: bochdainn m, truaighe f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сирома́штво n, неима́штина f

  Roman: siromáštvo (sh) n, neimáština (sh) f

• Sicilian: puvirtà (scn) f, puvirtati (scn) f
• Sinhalese: දිළිඳුබව (diḷiⁿdubawa)
• Slovak: chudoba f, bieda f
• Slovene: revščina (sl) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: chudoba f

  Upper Sorbian: chudoba f

• Spanish: pobreza (es) f, pauperismo m
• Swahili: ufukara (sw), umaskini
• Swedish: fattigdom (sv) c
• Tagalog: karukhaan
• Tajik: фақр (faqr), факирӣ (fakirī), камбағалӣ (kambaġalī)
• Tamil: வறுமை (ta) (vaṟumai)
• Tatar: ярлылык (tt) (yarlılıq), фәкыйрьлек (tt) (fäkıyr’lek)
• Telugu: పేదరికం (te) (pēdarikaṁ), బీదరికం (bīdarikaṁ)
• Thai: ความจน (th) (kwaam-jon), ความยากจน (th) (kwaam-yâak-jon)
• Turkish: fakirlik (tr), yoksulluk (tr)
• Turkmen: garyplyk
• Ukrainian: біднота́ (uk) f (bidnotá), бі́дність (uk) f (bídnistʹ), мізе́рність f (mizérnistʹ), убо́зтво (uk) n (ubóztvo), зли́дні m pl (zlýdni)
• Urdu: غریبی‎ (ur) f (ġarībī), فقر‎ m (faqr)
• Uyghur: نامراتلىق‎ (namratliq), يوقسۇللۇق‎ (yoqsulluq)
• Uzbek: kambagʻallik (uz), faqirlik (uz), qashshoqlik (uz)
• Vietnamese: sự nghèo nàn (vi)
• Yiddish: דלות‎ (dales), אָרעמקייט‎ f (oremkeyt)
• Yoruba: ipò òṣì

deficiency of elements

• Bulgarian: липса (bg) f (lipsa), недостиг (bg) m (nedostig)
• Catalan: pobresa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 缺乏 (zh) (quēfá)

• Czech: nedostatek (cs) m
• Finnish: puute (fi), köyhyys (fi)
• Hungarian: hiány (hu)
• Indonesian: kekurangan (id)
• Japanese: 欠乏 (ja) (けつぼう, ketsubō)
• Korean: 결핍 (ko) (gyeolpip)
• Maori: hahoretanga
• Navajo: téʼéʼį́, téʼéʼį́į́h
• Portuguese: pobreza (pt) f
• Russian: недоста́ток (ru) m (nedostátok), нехва́тка (ru) f (nexvátka), ску́дность (ru) f (skúdnostʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: airc f
• Serbo-Croatian: siromáštvo (sh) n, òskudica (sh) f,
• Slovak: nedostatok (sk) m
• Spanish: pobreza (es) f
• Swahili: ufukara (sw)
• Tagalog: karukhaan

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} povreso (io)

See also

• aporophobia

References

• “poverty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.