Beggar Meaning
/ˈbɛɡɚ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA person who begs.
nounA person suffering from extreme poverty.
Sentence Examples
He is rich yet he lives like a beggar.
The poet was no richer than a beggar.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The poor ____ sat on the corner asking passersby for coins.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The poor ____ asked for some small change from the people passing by.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar (“beggar”), from Middle English beggen (“to beg”), equivalent to beg + -ar. Alternative etymology derives Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar from Old French begart, originally a member of the Beghards, a lay brotherhood of mendicants in the Low Countries, from Middle Dutch beggaert (“mendicant”), with pejorative suffix (see -ard); the order is said to be named after the priest Lambert le Bègue of Liège (French for “Lambert the Stammerer”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"Odysseus has returned to his home disguised as a beggar."
— 1983, Stanley Rosen, Plato’s Sophist: The Drama of Original & Image, St. Augustine’s Press, page 62:
"I'm to be a poor, crawling beggar, sponging for rum, when I might be rolling in a coach!"
— 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
"The beggar seems to have known his business. All fine specimens of the best period."
— 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
"Moreover, the pathing tool, which always has the potential to be a fussy little beggar, is especially uncooperative in career mode where there is a lot of bespoke geometry."
— 2025 February 26, Rick Lane, “Review: Planet Coaster 2”, in PC Gamer (US), number 392, page 69; published online 1 November 2024:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The poor ____ sat on the corner asking passersby for coins.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The poor ____ asked for some small change from the people passing by.