beggar

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Pronunciation

• (America) IPA: /ˈbɛɡɚ/
• (RP) IPA: /ˈbɛɡə/

Noun

beggar (plural beggars)

1. 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.

2. A person suffering from extreme poverty.
3. (colloquial, sometimes, affectionate) A mean or wretched person; a scoundrel.

   What does that silly beggar think he's doing?

Synonyms

• (who begs) mendicant, panhandler, schnorrer, spanger, truant, see also Thesaurus:beggar
• (extremely poor person) palliard, pauper, vagabond, see also Thesaurus:pauper

Translations

• French: gueux, mendiant, mendiante
• German: Bettler, Bettlerin qf female, Bettelmann, Bettelfrau qf female, Bettelweib qf female, Bettelbruder, Bettelschwester qf female, Pracher, Pracherin qf female
• Italian: mendicante
• Portuguese: mendigo, mendiga
• Russian: попроша́йка
• Spanish: mendigo, mendiga, pordiosero, mendicante, limosnero

Translations

• Portuguese: mendigo
• Russian: ни́щий
• Spanish: mendigo

Verb

beggar (beggars, present participle beggaring; past and past participle beggared)

1. (transitive) To make a beggar of someone; impoverish.
2. (transitive) To exhaust the resources of; to outdo.

Synonyms

• ruin

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