mendicancy

American  

[men-di-kuhn-see] / ˈmɛn dɪ kən si /

noun

1. the practice of begging, as for alms.

2. the state or condition of being a beggar.

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Other Word Forms

• nonmendicancy noun

Etymology

Origin of mendicancy

First recorded in 1780–90; mendic(ant) + -ancy

Example Sentences

One should equally avoid the appearance of mendicancy and that of prosperity . . . don't wait to be invited to ride . . . walk on the wrong side of the road.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rhee's truculence is echoed by many Koreans, and for understandable reasons: without the power resources, the fertilizer factories and the iron mines of North Korea, the republic is doomed to economic mendicancy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Disillusioned with "the perishable world," he suddenly renounces his princely surroundings for a life of famished mendicancy.

From Time Magazine Archive

The sharper old residents borrowed from the shallower newcomers, and, as a matter of course, theft went hand in hand with mendicancy.

From In Jail with Charles Dickens by Trumble, Alfred

Another influence, which largely contributes to the existence of the mendicancy that scandalizes the traveller, is the tradition of recent poverty.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879 by Various