## Etymology
From Old French indigence, from Latin indigentia ('need, want'), from indigere ('to be in need'), from indu- ('in') + egere ('to lack, want').

## AI Etymology
indigence comes from Old French indigence, from Latin indigentia ('need, want'), from indigere ('to be in need'), from indu- ('in') + egere ('to lack, want'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "a state of extreme poverty or neediness", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as indigent and indigency. Its semantic neighborhood includes poverty, destitution, penury, and want, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin indigere and Latin egere.

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- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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