beg·gar·ly

(bĕg′ər-lē)

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or befitting a beggar; very poor: a beggarly existence in the slums.

2. So mean, petty, or paltry as to deserve contempt.

beg′gar·li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

The knowledge that we have gained will lead us to poverty and beggarliness. (78) In some ways, the students' protests echoed those of older education reformers.

Caught in the middle: reform and youth rebellion in Russia's madrasas, 1900-10

The move gracefully counters rampant beggarliness within the kindred without having actually to say so.

Sacred cows of 'development': the ritual incorporation of a dairy project in the eastern interior of Fiji (c.1980-1997)

For medieval Christians beggarly "womanish" reception, far from constituting a demeaningly powerless passivity, represented the best way to be empowered, to be activated for the limitless beggarliness of kenotic caritas, to be empowered for the fullest form of imitatio Christi.

Trinitarian and mystical receptivity: modern theory and a medieval case study

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.