Beggaring
a person who begs alms or lives by begging.
a penniless person.
a wretched fellow; rogue:
the surly beggar who collects the rents.
a child or youngster (usually preceded by little):
a sudden urge to hug the little beggar.
to reduce to utter poverty; impoverish:
The family had been beggared by the war.
to cause one’s resources of or ability for (description, comparison, etc.) to seem poor or inadequate:
The costume beggars description.
Historical Examples
Rural Rides William Cobbett
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Adam Smith
Theocritus Theocritus
Dick Merriwell Abroad Burt L. Standish
Spawn of the Comet Harold Thompson Rich
Political economy W. Stanley Jevons
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 369, July 1846 Various
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs George M. Wrong
Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History Thomas Carlyle
Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France George Warton Edwards
noun
a person who begs, esp one who lives by begging
a person who has no money or resources; pauper
(ironic, jocular, mainly Brit) fellow: lucky beggar!
verb (transitive)
to be beyond the resources of (esp in the phrase to beggar description)
to impoverish; reduce to begging
n.
v.
Read Also:
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- Beggars can't be choosers
beggars can’t be choosers Those in dire need must be content with what they get. For example, The cheapest model will have to do—beggars can’t be choosers. This expression was familiar enough to be included in John Heywood’s 1546 collection of proverbs.
- Begged
to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: to beg alms; to beg forgiveness. to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore: He begged me for mercy. Sit down, I beg you. to take for granted without basis or justification: a statement that begs the very point we’re disputing. to […]
- Begging
to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: to beg alms; to beg forgiveness. to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore: He begged me for mercy. Sit down, I beg you. to take for granted without basis or justification: a statement that begs the very point we’re disputing. to […]
- Begging bowl
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