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Definition of poor - 6 dictionary results
poor
[poo
r] 
adjective, -er, -est, noun –adjective
| 1. | 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
—Idioms| 15. | (used with a plural verb) poor persons collectively (usually prec. by the): sympathy for the poor. |
| 16. | poor as a church mouse, extremely poor. |
| 17. | poor as Job's turkey, extremely poor; impoverished. |
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.
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.
Antonyms:
1, 5, 7. rich. 1, 3, 4. wealthy.
1, 5, 7. rich. 1, 3, 4. wealthy.
Pronunciation note:
In the North and North Midland U.S., the vowel of poor is most often [oo] . Poor and sure thus contrast with pour and shore: [poor], [shoor] versus [pawr], [shawr] or [pohr], [shohr]. In the South Midland and South, the vowel of poor is generally [aw] or [oh] (often with the final (r) dropped), which means that in these areas, poor and pour are homophones, as are sure and shore. Both types of pronunciation exist in the British Isles.
In the North and North Midland U.S., the vowel of poor is most often
[oo] . Poor and sure thus contrast with pour and shore: [poor], [shoor] versus [pawr], [shawr] or [pohr], [shohr]. In the South Midland and South, the vowel of poor is generally [aw] or [oh] (often with the final (r) dropped), which means that in these areas, poor and pour are homophones, as are sure and shore. Both types of pronunciation exist in the British Isles.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To poor
| poor (pŏŏr) adj. poor·er, poor·est
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). 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. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Poor
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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poor
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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