beggar
Meaning
-
- A person who begs.
- A person suffering from extreme poverty.
- (colloquial) A mean or wretched person; a scoundrel.
- A minced oath for bugger.
Synonyms
poor person
almsman
mumper
wild beasts
engaged worker
poor person who dances for alms
sack and stick
mendicant living on alms
not sleeping in house
one who asks for
professional beggar
urban idler
alms-seeker
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈbɛɡɚ/
Etymology
From Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar (“beggar”), from Middle English beggen (“to beg”), equivalent to beg + -ar. Alternative etymology derives Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar 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 (see -ard); the order is said to be named after the priest Lambert le Bègue of Liège (French for “Lambert the Stammerer”).
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