mendicant

American  

[men-di-kuhnt] / ˈmɛn dɪ kənt /

adjective

1. begging; practicing begging; living on alms.

2. pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.

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noun

1. a person who lives by begging; beggar.

2. a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property, subsisting mostly on alms.

mendicant British  

/ mɛnˈdɪsɪtɪ, ˈmɛndɪkənt /

adjective

1. begging

2. (of a member of a religious order) dependent on alms for sustenance

   mendicant friars

3. characteristic of a beggar

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noun

1. a mendicant friar

2. a less common word for beggar

Other Word Forms

• mendicancy
  noun
• nonmendicant
  adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

People who live off begging can be called mendicants. However, you probably wouldn't call your kids mendicants, even though they beg you for stuff, because the word mendicant also implies extreme poverty. The noun mendicant can also refer to a man belonging to a religious order, such as the Franciscan Friars — who do not own personal property but live together in a monastery and survive off alms donated by others. As an adjective, mendicant describes someone who lives such an existence.

Example Sentences

One who obtained an unenviable notoriety by his intemperate invectives against the Mendicant Orders, was educated there—Henry Crump, an Englishman, and monk of the Abbey of Baltinglas.

From Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth Its Ruins and Associations, a Guide and Popular History by Anonymous

The clergy would also still occasionally endeavor to prevent the establishment of new Mendicant houses, or seek to drive them away by ill-treatment, with the inevitable result of calling forth the papal vengeance.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume I by Lea, Henry Charles

Reference must also be made to the part played in education by the Mendicant Orders.

From Education in England in the Middle Ages Thesis Approved for the Degree of Doctor of Science in the University of London by Parry, Albert William

Finally, "The Westminster Mendicant" and the "Westminster Deserter drummed out" complete this really brilliant series of election caricatures, of which I have only detailed the most interesting.

From The Eighteenth Century in English Caricature by Brinton, Selwyn

Their districts were naturally coterminous with the provinces of the Mendicant Orders, whose provincials were charged with the duty of appointment, and these provinces each comprised many bishoprics.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume I by Lea, Henry Charles