poor
/pɔːr/
adjective
Origin
Latin
pauper — poor, destitute
Overview
Meaning Now
- lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.
- of a low or inferior standard or quality.
- deserving of pity or sympathy.
Language path
Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
poure
Earliest period
13th century
Journey
The word stems from the Latin 'pauper', which shares the same Proto-Indo-European root as 'few'. Historically, it underwent significant phonetic changes as it moved through Romance languages, losing the second syllable and evolving into the Old French 'povre' before entering Middle English.
Evolution
- Latin
pauper
“destitute”
Original classical form.
- Vulgar Latin
pauperum
“poor”
Reduced to paupe- form.
- Old French
povre
“poor”
- Middle English
poure
“poor”
- Modern English
poor
“lacking resources or quality”
Connections
Word parts
poor
root
lacking resources
Related across languages
French
pauvre
poor
Spanish
pobre
poor
Italian
povero
poor
Related words
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.