Poverty

Poverty Pov"er*ty (p[o^]v"[~e]r*t[y^]), n. [OE. poverte, OF. povert['e], F. pauvret['e], fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See {Poor}.] 1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. ``Swathed in numblest poverty.'' --Keble. [1913 Webster]

The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty. --Prov. xxiii. 21. [1913 Webster]

2. Any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas. [1913 Webster]

{Poverty grass} (Bot.), a name given to several slender grasses (as {Aristida dichotoma}, and {Danthonia spicata}) which often spring up on old and worn-out fields. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Indigence; penury; beggary; need; lack; want; scantiness; sparingness; meagerness; jejuneness.

Usage: {Poverty}, {Indigence}, {Pauperism}. Poverty is a relative term; what is poverty to a monarch, would be competence for a day laborer. Indigence implies extreme distress, and almost absolute destitution. Pauperism denotes entire dependence upon public charity, and, therefore, often a hopeless and degraded state. [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Poverty — • Discusses poverty as a concept and canonical discipline Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Poverty Poverty † … Catholic encyclopedia
poverty — pov‧er‧ty [ˈpɒvəti ǁ ˈpɑːvərti] noun [uncountable] 1. the situation or experience of being poor: • 86% of the population lives in poverty. • a major anti poverty initiative 2. the poverty line the income below which people are officially… … Financial and business terms
poverty — poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution, privation all denote the state of one who is poor or without enough to live upon. Poverty, the most comprehensive of these terms, typically implies such deficiency of resources that one is deprived… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
poverty — [päv′ər tē] n. [ME poverte < OFr povreté < L paupertas < pauper, POOR] 1. the condition or quality of being poor; indigence; need 2. deficiency in necessary properties or desirable qualities, or in a specific quality, etc.; inadequacy… … English World dictionary
poverty — late 12c., from O.Fr. poverte, from L. paupertatem (nom. paupertas) poverty, from pauper (see POOR (Cf. poor)). Seeing so much poverty everywhere makes me think that God is not rich. He gives the appearance of it, but I suspect some financial… … Etymology dictionary
poverty — poverty, poorness Poverty is the usual noun corresponding to poor in its meanings to do with lack of wealth or lack of things regarded like wealth (e.g. poverty of inspiration). Poorness is not often used and is more usual in meanings to do with… … Modern English usage
poverty — I noun absence, bare subsistence, beggarliness, beggary, dearth, deficiency, deficit, depletion, destitution, difficulty, distress, embarrassed circumstances, exigency, famine, humbleness, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence … Law dictionary
poverty — [n] want; extreme need, often financial abjection, aridity, bankruptcy, barrenness, beggary, dearth, debt, deficiency, deficit, depletion, destitution, difficulty, distress, emptiness, exiguity, famine, hardship, impecuniousness, impoverishment,… … New thesaurus
poverty — ► NOUN 1) the state of being extremely poor. 2) the state of being insufficient in amount. ORIGIN Old French poverte, from Latin pauper poor … English terms dictionary
Poverty — Street children sleeping in Mulberry Street – Jacob Riis photo New York, United States (1890) Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.[1] Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford … Wikipedia

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Poverty

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