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poor
7 dictionary results for: poor
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
poor 
[poor] Pronunciation Key adjective, -er, -est, noun
—Related forms
[poor] Pronunciation Key adjective, -er, -est, noun –adjective
–noun
—Idioms
| 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. |
| 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.
—Antonyms 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] Pronunciation Key. 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.
[oo] Pronunciation Key. 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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| poor
(pŏŏr) Pronunciation Key
adj. poor·er, poor·est
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). 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. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
poor
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
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| poor | |
adjective | |
| 1. | 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] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Poor
Poor\, n. (Zo["o]l.) A small European codfish (Gadus minutus); -- called also power cod.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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