poverty
/ˈpɒvərti/
noun
Origin
Latin
paupertas — poverty, condition of a poor person
Overview
Meaning Now
- The state of being extremely poor.
- The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.
Literal older meaning
poorness
Language path
Latin → Old French → English
Earliest form
poverte
Earliest period
13th century
Journey
The term stems from the Latin 'pauper', literally meaning 'producing little' (from 'paucus', few + 'parere', to produce). In medieval legal contexts, it was often used to describe legal statuses or exemptions afforded to the impoverished.
Evolution
- Latin
paupertas
“poverty”
Derived from 'pauper' (poor).
- Old French
poverte
“poverty”
Direct borrowing from Latin.
- Middle English
poverte
“the state of having little money”
- Modern English
poverty
“extreme scarcity of money or resources”
Connections
Word parts
pover-
root
poor
-ty
suffix
state or condition
Related across languages
French
pauvreté
poverty
Spanish
pobreza
poverty
Italian
povertà
poverty
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.