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pauper

pauper

19 7.4
A very poor person who depends on public charity
  • noun
  • /ˈpɔːpər/
translation icon : indigente
  • Although he lived in the city as a pauper, he was happy and grateful for what he had.
  • young paupers
  • pauper's grave
  • number of paupers

The Potter's field is where people are buried who are paupers or not identified.

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Examples

  • Although he was dressed like a courtier, Casimir felt like a pauper as he trudged the cobbled highroad.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • What does a pauper have to give?

  • In my mother's eyes, he was a pauper.

  • I've always known I would not marry a pauper.

  • More than 50 percent of all paupers were under the age of twenty.

    Academic text (1993)
  • As neither family claimed the body, it was buried in a pauper's grave.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In 1870, the proportion of paupers in the district was close to the national average.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Many of them became paupers, but family and kin often stepped in and fostered these children.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The charity provided food and shelter to every pauper who came to their door.

  • Many believe that a pauper deserves just as much respect as a king.

Synonyms

charity case
vspauper
  • Offensive
14 4.6

A person who gets help from other people because they are in need

focuses on extreme poverty with formal dependence on public charity
panhandler
vspauper
  • US
11 7.4

A person who asks strangers for money in public places

covers broader dependence on charity rather than public street requests
poor person
vspauper
8 1.0

A person who has very little money and few things

specifies extreme poverty and dependence on public charity
indigent
vspauper
  • Formal
3 8.1

A person who is very poor and needs help

is used for extreme poverty that often relies on public charity
derelict
vspauper
3 8.4

A person who has no home or job and is ignored by other people

focuses on extreme poverty with emphasis on formal charity support not neglect
mendicant
vspauper
  • Formal
1 9.9

A person who lives by begging for money or food

highlights dependence on organized public charity rather than active begging
down-and-out
vspauper
1 7.7

A person with no money, job, or home

emphasizes total loss of work and home while the key stresses charity reliance
beggarman
vspauper
8.2

A man who asks people for money or food on the street

refers to extreme poverty with reliance on public charity not only street begging
beggarwoman
vspauper
7.6

A woman who asks people for money or food in public places

refers to extreme poverty and charity dependence beyond gendered street begging

Antonyms

520 2.5

Having a lot of money and many expensive things

1 6.0

A person who has a lot of money

How Poor

destitute
20 6.5
pauper
19 7.4
poor person
8 1.0

Surface Forms

pauper singular
paupers plural

Etymology

Pauper comes from the old Latin root pau- meaning 'few' or 'little', so it was used for someone who had 'very little' to live on. That's why today a pauper is a person who is very poor and often needs public help.