pauper
Americannoun
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a person without any means of support, especially a destitute person who depends on aid from public welfare funds or charity.
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a very poor person.
noun
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a person who is extremely poor
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(formerly) a destitute person supported by public charity
Other Word Forms
- pauperage noun
- pauperdom noun
- pauperism noun
Etymology
Origin of pauper
1485–95; < Latin: poor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For most of human history, identity was ascribed at birth: pauper, peasant, preacher, princess.
From Slate • Aug. 3, 2024
Many were buried in Portland cemeteries, some in unmarked pauper graves.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2024
Follow the adage "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."
From Salon • Oct. 9, 2022
The goal is not to make Putin a pauper.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2022
“If a single one of you comes onto the pauper rolls, where do you think the money to keep you will come from? It will come from the people of Phippsburg.”
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
