poor law

noun

1. a law or system of laws providing for the relief or support of poor people at public expense.

poor law

noun

1. English history a law providing for the relief or support of the poor from public, esp parish, funds

Word History and Origins

Origin of poor law¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

She was elected to the Nantwich Board of Guardians, who administered the poor law, and also travelled around the country speaking for the ILP.

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Corruption, poor law enforcement and armed conflict have left West and Central Africa vulnerable to international criminals and made the region a hotbed of ivory and pangolin scale trafficking to Asia in recent years.

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Diana Arias, who started the petition, wrote that “domestic violence is a serious concern for everyone” and Harwick “was murdered as a result of poor laws not protecting the victims and treating the offenders.”

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Dickens was not the only writer to expose the horrors of the poor laws.

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The theory was deterrence: make the poor law frightening and only the most desperate – those truly in need – would trouble the authorities and public purse.

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