mendicant
[ men-di-kuh nt ]
/ ˈmɛn dɪ kənt /
adjective
begging; practicing begging; living on alms.
pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.
noun
a person who lives by begging; beggar.
a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property, subsisting mostly on alms.
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Origin of mendicant
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin mendīcant- (stem of mendīcāns), present participle of mendīcāre to beg, equivalent to mendīc(us) beggarly, needy + -ant- -ant
OTHER WORDS FROM mendicant
non·men·di·cant, adjectiveWords nearby mendicant
mendelssohn, felix, mender, menderes, mendes, mendicancy, mendicant, mendicity, mending, mendips, mendocino, mendota
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for mendicant
British Dictionary definitions for mendicant
mendicant
/ (ˈmɛndɪkənt) /
adjective
begging
(of a member of a religious order) dependent on alms for sustenancemendicant friars
characteristic of a beggar
noun
a mendicant friar
a less common word for beggar
Derived forms of mendicant
mendicancy or mendicity (mɛnˈdɪsɪtɪ), nounWord Origin for mendicant
C16: from Latin mendīcāre to beg, from mendīcus beggar, from mendus flaw
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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