penniless

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Lacking even the smallest amount of money.

   In societies without national insurance of any kind, almshouses are the last refuge of penniless people.

2. 2
   adj

   Of a country's system of money, abstaining from the use of penny coins, despite having fully decimalized currency, by means of rounding of cash transactions (but not necessarily of cashless ones).

   Canada became a penniless country in 2013 simply by rounding its cash transactions to the nearest nickel but otherwise not changing anything.

3. 3
   adj

   not having enough money to pay for necessities

Etymology

From Middle English penyles, penylees; equivalent to penny + -less. Compare Old Norse penningalauss (“penniless”).