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.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
mendelssohn, felix, mender, menderes, mendes, mendicancy, mendicant, mendicity, mending, mendips, mendocino, mendota
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
Related forms
non·men·di·cant, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples 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
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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