beggarly

American  

[beg-er-lee] / ˈbɛg ər li /

adjective

1. like or befitting a beggar.

2. meanly inadequate.

   How does he manage on such a beggarly salary?

---

beggarly British  

/ ˈbɛɡəlɪ /

adjective

1. meanly inadequate; very poor

   beggarly living conditions

---

Other Word Forms

• beggarliness noun
• unbeggarly adjective

Etymology

Origin of beggarly

First recorded in 1520–30; beggar + -ly

Example Sentences

Unsure whether he had been duped, he sent Francis a beggarly email: “I was wondering if you have reached a decision on my Shedd Bailout/Rescue Loan proposal.”

From Washington Post

So few assistants, so pitiably few customers, such a beggarly array of goods!

From Project Gutenberg

We shall not get any before next January, and then only a beggarly hundred or so.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, having gazed their fill on the Bavarian throne's wrecker and finding she could not dance, they stayed away; and Lola ended her engagement at the Broadway to the hackneyed "beggarly array of empty benches."

From Project Gutenberg

The peasants wrapped in their blankets had a beggarly aspect after the dandy majo of Andalusia.

From Project Gutenberg