beggar

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbɛɡɚ/ UK /ˈbɛɡə/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bagger /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Meanings

1

noun
a person who lives by asking for charity

A ragged beggar held out his cup at the cathedral steps.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who lives by... mendicant pauper vagrant tramppanhandlersupplicant

Opposites

benefactor philanthropist

Word family

Forms beggarman

Derived forms beggarly beggarybeggardom

Related forms beg

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

beggar-thy-neighbor policy
an economic policy intended to benefit one country at the expense of other countries

Fixed expression

Etymology

From Middle English beggere, from beg + the agentive suffix -ar, or directly from Old French begart. Beg is of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English bedecian ('to beg').

begart Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# beggar

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɛɡɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɛɡə/

## Meanings
1. a person who lives by asking for charity

## Examples
- A ragged beggar held out his cup at the cathedral steps.

## Synonyms
- mendicant
- pauper
- vagrant
- tramp
- panhandler
- supplicant

## Antonyms
- benefactor
- philanthropist

## Derived Forms
- beggarly
- beggary
- beggardom

## Related Forms
- beg

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: begart

## Etymology
From Middle English beggere, from beg + the agentive suffix -ar, or directly from Old French begart. Beg is of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English bedecian ('to beg').

## AI Etymology
Beggar is a noun and verb meaning "a person who lives by asking for charity". Historically, it is from Middle English beggere, from beg + the agentive suffix -ar, or directly from Old French begart. Beg is of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English bedecian ('to beg'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: beggar is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The modern meaning, "a person who lives by asking for charity", follows the base word through the added English ending. The historical chain is anchored in Old French begart. Close English family members include beggarly, beggary, beggardom, and beg.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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