English Explanatory Dictionary

beggar

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A person who begs.
  2. A person suffering from extreme poverty.
  3. A mean or wretched person; a scoundrel.
  4. A minced oath for bugger.
  5. the last placer in Tycoon
verb
  1. To make a beggar of someone; impoverish.
  2. To exhaust the resources of; to outdo or go beyond.

Pronunciation

/ˈbɛɡɚ/ /ˈbɛɡə/ en-us-beggar.ogg

Word forms

beggar beggars begger beggaring beggared

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”).

Synonyms

almsman almswoman beggar cadger caird clochard Lazarus mendicant mumper panhandler schnorrer spanger truant palliard pauper vagabond bankrupt indigent insolvent have not lack-all penny-father poor hellraiser rascal scapegrace agitator bad boy bad news bear bhoy blackguard booger boot boy bovver boy brat brawler breedbate buffoon bugger bully charva cutup devil elf enfant terrible firebrand gadfly hell-raiser hood hoodlum hool hoolie hooligan hothead imp inciter initiator instigator jackanapes

Antonyms

tycoon

Related words

set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the Devil vagabond pauper scrounger

Derived words

Bedlam beggar beggardom beggarer beggaress beggarhood beggarism beggarlike beggarliness beggarly beggarman beggars can't be choosers beggar's-lice beggarsome beggartick beggar-ticks beggarware beggarweed beggarwise beggarwoman beggary buckle-beggar couple-beggar cyberbeggar e-beggar if wishes were horses, beggars would ride kill-the-beggar play silly beggars put the beggar on the gentleman scare-beggar set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the Devil sturdy beggar swamp beggar-ticks beggar belief beggar description beggar-my-neighbor beggar-my-neighbour beggar off beggar the question beggar thy neighbor beggar-thy-neighbor
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