having little or no money, goods, or other means of support: a poor family living on welfare.
2.
Law. dependent upon charity or public support.
3.
(of a country, institution, etc.) meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.
4.
characterized by or showing poverty.
5.
deficient or lacking in something specified: a region poor in mineral deposits.
6.
faulty or inferior, as in construction: poor workmanship.
7.
deficient in desirable ingredients, qualities, or the like: poor soil.
8.
excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.
9.
of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind: poor health.
10.
lacking in skill, ability, or training: a poor cook.
11.
deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.
12.
scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number: a poor audience.
13.
humble; modest: They shared their poor meal with a stranger.
14.
unfortunate; hapless: The poor dog was limping.
–noun
15.
(used with a plural verb) poor persons collectively (usually prec. by the): sympathy for the poor.
—Idioms
16.
poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.
17.
poor as Job's turkey, extremely poor; impoverished.
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME pov(e)re < OF povre < L pauper.See pauper]
—Related forms
poorness, noun
—Synonyms 1. needy, indigent, necessitous, straitened, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken. Poor,impecunious,impoverished,penniless refer to those lacking money. Poor is the simple term for the condition of lacking means to obtain the comforts of life: a very poor family. Impecunious often suggests that the poverty is a consequence of unwise habits: an impecunious actor. Impoverished often implies a former state of greater plenty, from which one has been reduced: the impoverished aristocracy. Penniless may mean destitute, or it may apply simply to a temporary condition of being without funds: The widow was left penniless with three small children. 5. meager. 6. unsatisfactory, shabby. 7. sterile, barren, unfruitful, unproductive. 8. thin, skinny, meager, gaunt. 14. miserable, unhappy, pitiable.
Having little or no wealth and few or no possessions.
Lacking in a specified resource or quality: an area poor in timber and coal; a diet poor in calcium.
Not adequate in quality; inferior: a poor performance.
Lacking in value; insufficient: poor wages.
Lacking in quantity: poor attendance.
Lacking fertility: poor soil.
Undernourished; lean.
Humble: a poor spirit.
Eliciting or deserving pity; pitiable: couldn't rescue the poor fellow.
n.
(used with a pl. verb)
People with little or no wealth and possessions considered as a group: The urban poor are in need of homes.
[Middle English poure, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pau-1 in Indo-European roots.]
poor'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking the money or the means for an adequate or comfortable life. Poor is the most general: "Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness" (Samuel Johnson).
Indigent and needy refer to one in need or want: indigent people living on the street; distributed food to needy families. Impecunious and penniless mean having little or no money: "Certainly an impecunious Subaltern was not a catch" (Rudyard Kipling). He made poor investments which left him penniless.
One who is impoverished has been reduced to poverty: an impoverished, third-world country. Poverty-stricken means suffering from poverty and miserably poor: refugees living in poverty-stricken camps. Destitute means lacking any means of subsistence: tenants left destitute by the fire.
Usage Note: In informal speech poor is sometimes used as an adverb, as in They never played poorer. In formal usage more poorly would be required in this example.
c.1200, from O.Fr. poure (Fr. pauvre), from L. pauper "poor," perhaps a compound of paucus "little" and parare "to get." Replaced O.E. earm.Poorhouse is from 1781. The poor boy sandwich, made of simple but filling ingredients, was invented and named in New Orleans in 1921. To poor mouth "deny one's advantages" is from 1965 (to make a poor mouth "whine" is Scot. dial. from 1822). Slang poor man's ________ "the cheaper alternative to _______," is from 1854.
deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life" [syn: hapless]
2.
having little money or few possessions; "deplored the gap between rich and poor countries"; "the proverbial poor artist living in a garret" [ant: rich]
3.
characterized by or indicating poverty; "the country had a poor economy"; "they lived in the poor section of town" [ant: rich]
4.
lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances; "a poor land"; "the area was poor in timber and coal"; "food poor in nutritive value" [ant: rich]
5.
not sufficient to meet a need; "an inadequate income"; "a poor salary"; "money is short"; "on short rations"; "food is in short supply"; "short on experience" [syn: inadequate]
6.
unsatisfactory; "a poor light for reading"; "poor morale"; "expectations were poor"
noun
1.
people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group); "the urban poor need assistance" [syn: poor people] [ant: rich]
Im*pov"er*ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impoverished; p. pr. & vb. n. Impoverishing.] [OF. empovrir; pref. em- (L. in) + povre poor, F. pauvre; cf. OF. apovrir, F. appauvrir, where the prefix is a-, L. ad. Cf. Empoverish, and see Poor, and -ish.]1. To make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence; as, misfortune and disease impoverish families. 2. To exhaust the strength, richness, or fertility of; to make sterile; as, to impoverish land.
Pau"per\, n. [L. See Poor.] A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor.
Poor\, a. [Compar. Poorer (?; 254); superl. Poorest.] [OE. poure or povre, OF. povre, F. pauvre, L. pauper; the first syllable of which is probably akin to paucus few (see Paucity, Few), and the second to parare to prepare, procure. See Few, and cf. Parade, Pauper, Poverty.]1. Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent. Note: It is often synonymous with indigent and with necessitous denoting extreme want. It is also applied to persons who are not entirely destitute of property, but who are not rich; as, a poor man or woman; poor people. 2. (Law) So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public. 3. Hence, in very various applications: Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected; as: (a) Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc. "Seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed." --Gen. xli. 19. (b) Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits. "His genius . . . poor and cowardly." --Bacon. (c) Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings. "A poor vessel." --Clarendon. (d) Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; -- said of land; as, poor soil. (e) Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture. (f) Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night. (g) Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse. That I have wronged no man will be a poor plea or apology at the last day. --Calamy. 4. Worthy of pity or sympathy; -- used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt. And for mine own poor part, Look you, I'll go pray. --Shak. Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing. --Prior. 5. Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." --Matt. v. 3. Poor law, a law providing for, or regulating, the relief or support of the poor. Poor man's treacle (Bot.), garlic; -- so called because it was thought to be an antidote to animal poison. [Eng] --Dr. Prior. Poor man's weatherglass (Bot.), the red-flowered pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), which opens its blossoms only in fair weather. Poor rate, an assessment or tax, as in an English parish, for the relief or support of the poor. Poor soldier (Zo["o]l.), the friar bird. The poor, those who are destitute of property; the indigent; the needy. In a legal sense, those who depend on charity or maintenance by the public. "I have observed the more public provisions are made for the poor, the less they provide for themselves." --Franklin.
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. The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty. --Prov. xxiii. 21. 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. 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. 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.
Rich\, (r[i^]ch), a. [Compar. Richer; superl. Richest.] [OE. riche, AS. r[=i]ce rich, powerful; akin to OS. r[=i]ki, D. rijk, G. reich, OHG. r[=i]hhi, Icel. r[=i]kr, Sw. rik, Dan. rig, Goth. reiks; from a word meaning, ruler, king, probably borrowed from Celtic, and akin to L. rex, regis, king, regere to guide, rule. [root]283. See Right, and cf. Derrick, Enrich, Rajah, Riches, Royal.]1. Having an abundance of material possessions; possessed of a large amount of property; well supplied with land, goods, or money; wealthy; opulent; affluent; -- opposed to poor. "Rich merchants." --Chaucer. The rich [person] hath many friends. --Prov. xiv. 20. As a thief, bent to unhoard the cash Of some rich burgher. --Milton. 2. Hence, in general, well supplied; abounding; abundant; copious; bountiful; as, a rich treasury; a rich entertainment; a rich crop. If life be short, it shall be glorious; Each minute shall be rich in some great action. --Rowe. The gorgeous East with richest hand Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold. --Milton. 3. Yielding large returns; productive or fertile; fruitful; as, rich soil or land; a rich mine. 4. Composed of valuable or costly materials or ingredients; procured at great outlay; highly valued; precious; sumptuous; costly; as, a rich dress; rich silk or fur; rich presents. Like to rich and various gems. --Milton. 5. Abounding in agreeable or nutritive qualities; -- especially applied to articles of food or drink which are high-seasoned or abound in oleaginous ingredients, or are sweet, luscious, and high-flavored; as, a rich dish; rich cream or soup; rich pastry; rich wine or fruit. Sauces and rich spices are fetched from India. --Baker. 6. Not faint or delicate; vivid; as, a rich color. 7. Full of sweet and harmonius sounds; as, a rich voice; rich music. 8. Abounding in beauty; gorgeous; as, a rich landscape; rich scenery. 9. Abounding in humor; exciting amusement; entertaining; as, the scene was a rich one; a rich incident or character. [Colloq.] --Thackeray. Note: Rich is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, rich-fleeced, rich-jeweled, rich-laden, rich-stained. Syn: Wealthy; affluent; opulent; ample; copious; abundant; plentiful; fruitful; costly; sumptuous; precious; generous; luscious.
Weath"er*glass`\, n. An instrument to indicate the state of the atmosphere, especially changes of atmospheric pressure, and hence changes of weather, as a barometer or baroscope. Poor man's weatherglass. (Bot.) See under Poor.
The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19,21).
(2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their share of the produce of the fields and the vineyards (Ex. 23:11; Lev. 25:6).
(3.) In the year of jubilee they recovered their property (Lev. 25:25-30).
(4.) Usury was forbidden, and the pledged raiment was to be returned before the sun went down (Ex. 22:25-27; Deut. 24:10-13). The rich were to be generous to the poor (Deut. 15:7-11).
(5.) In the sabbatical and jubilee years the bond-servant was to go free (Deut. 15:12-15; Lev. 25:39-42, 47-54).
(6.) Certain portions from the tithes were assigned to the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29; 26:12, 13).
(7.) They shared in the feasts (Deut. 16:11, 14; Neh. 8:10).
(8.) Wages were to be paid at the close of each day (Lev. 19:13). In the New Testament (Luke 3:11; 14:13; Acts 6:1; Gal. 2:10; James 2:15, 16) we have similar injunctions given with reference to the poor. Begging was not common under the Old Testament, while it was so in the New Testament times (Luke 16:20, 21, etc.). But begging in the case of those who are able to work is forbidden, and all such are enjoined to "work with their own hands" as a Christian duty (1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:7-13; Eph. 4:28). This word is used figuratively in Matt. 5:3; Luke 6:20; 2 Cor. 8:9; Rev. 3:17.
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