pauper

[ paw-per ]

/ ˈpɔ pər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pauper ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person without any means of support, especially a destitute person who depends on aid from public welfare funds or charity.

a very poor person.

Nearby words

paulownia, paumgartner, paumotu archipelago, paunch, paunchy, pauper, pauperism, pauperize, paupiette, paur, pauraque

Origin of pauper

1485–95; < Latin: poor

Related forms

pau·per·age, pau·per·dom, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pauper

He returned home a pauper without a pension and 50 years later, at 70, chronicled the travails of the War of Independence.
McCain’s 13 Favorite Soldiers|Sandra McElwaine|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, the prince in the old saying “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” might need to retire.
How to Use Your Lunch Hour for Better Productivity, Without Ever Taking a Bite|Gregory Ferenstein|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I felt that desperation and recklessness of poverty which only a pauper knows.
Redburn. His First Voyage|Herman Melville
The mother of four of them was a widow, the fifth child was apparently a pauper, billeted upon her in consideration of 5s.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848|Various

You act awful silly 'bout that feller, an' father says he's only a pauper anyway.
Mr. Stubbs's Brother|James Otis
Hence the pauper tax, occasioned by the use of tobacco, may be set down at three millions of dollars, annually.
A Disquisition on the Evils of Using Tobacco|Orin Fowler
Santara, the famous French painter, died neglected and penniless in a pauper hospital.
Genius in Sunshine and Shadow|Maturin Murray Ballou

British Dictionary definitions for pauper

pauper

/ (ˈpɔːpə) /

noun

a person who is extremely poor

(formerly) a destitute person supported by public charity

Derived Forms

pauperism, noun

Word Origin for pauper

C16: from Latin: poor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012