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mendicant

 - 3 dictionary results

men⋅di⋅cant

  [men-di-kuhnt]
Use mendicant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. begging; practicing begging; living on alms.
2. pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.
–noun
3. a person who lives by begging; beggar.
4. a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property, subsisting mostly on alms.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME < L mendīcant- (s. of mendīcāns), prp. of mendīcāre to beg, equiv. to mendīc(us) beggarly, needy + -ant- -ant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mendicant
men·di·cant   (měn'dĭ-kənt)   
adj.  Depending on alms for a living; practicing begging.
n.  

  1. A beggar.

  2. A member of an order of friars forbidden to own property in common, who work or beg for their living.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mendīcāns, mendīcant-, present participle of mendīcāre, to beg, from mendīcus, needy, beggar, from mendum, physical defect.]
men'di·can·cy, men·dic'i·ty (-dĭs'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mendicant 
1474, from L. mendicantem (nom. mendicans) "beggar," prp. of mendicare "to beg," from mendicus "beggar," originally "cripple" (connection via cripples who beg), from menda "fault, physical defect" (see mendacious). Earlier form in M.E. was mendinant (1362), from O.Fr. mendinant, prp. of mendiner "to beg," from the same L. source.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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