pauper

noun, verb — 3 senses

pauper

noun

UK /ˈpɔːpə/ · AU, UK, NZ /ˈpoːpə/

Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin pauper (“poor”). Originally a legal term. Doublet of poor.

1

One who is extremely poor.

He has hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, and he lives like a pauper!1991, Art Spiegelman, Maus I: My Father Bleeds History, New York: Pantheon Books, page 132:

2

One living on or eligible for public charity.

Synonyms: bankrupt, beggar, indigent, insolvent, have not, lack-all, Lazarus, pauper, penny-father, poor
Antonyms: moneybags, plutocrat, tycoon
Derived terms: dispauper, pauperdom, pauperess, pauperism, pauperize, pauper's funeral, pauper's grave
Related terms: depauperate, pauci-, vagabond, impoverished, poverty
Hypernyms: person
Hyponyms: chav, dole bludger, welfare bum, welfare parasite, welfare queen

pauper

verb

Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin pauper (“poor”). Originally a legal term. Doublet of poor.

1

To make a pauper of; to drive into poverty.

“There’s no sense in you paupering yourself because you’re too stubborn to take my money.” ¶ “I’m not paupering myself.”2017, Naomi Rawlings, Love's Christmas Hope, →ISBN, page 86:

Related terms: in forma pauperis

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.