Beggary

  • 1Beggary — Beg gar*y, n. [OE. beggerie. See {Beggar}, n.] 1. The act of begging; the state of being a beggar; mendicancy; extreme poverty. [1913 Webster] 2. Beggarly appearance. [R.] [1913 Webster] The freedom and the beggary of the old studio. Thackeray.… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Beggary — Beg gar*y, a. Beggarly. [Obs.] B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3beggary — index poverty, privation Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4beggary — (n.) late 14c., from BEG (Cf. beg) + ARY (Cf. ary) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5beggary — [beg′ər ē] n. pl. beggaries [ME beggerie < beggere,BEGGAR] 1. extreme poverty 2. the act of begging or state of being a beggar 3. beggars as a group …

    English World dictionary

  • 6beggary — noun (U) formal the state of being very poor: The failure of their farm reduced them to beggary …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 7beggary — noun Date: 14th century 1. poverty, penury 2. the class of beggars 3. the practice of begging …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 8beggary — /beg euh ree/, n., pl. beggaries for 3. 1. a state or condition of utter poverty. 2. beggars collectively. 3. a place lived in or frequented by beggars. [1350 1400; ME beggerie. See BEGGAR, Y3] * * * …

    Universalium

  • 9beggary — noun /ˈbɛɡəri/ a) The state of a beggar; indigence, extreme poverty. b) The fact or action of begging …

    Wiktionary

  • 10beggary — Synonyms and related words: absence, bare cupboard, bare subsistence, beggarliness, begging, bumming, cadging, defectiveness, deficiency, deficit, deprivation, destitution, drought, empty purse, famine, grinding poverty, gripe, hand to mouth… …

    Moby Thesaurus