Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

mendicant

[ men-di-kuhnt ]

adjective

  1. begging; practicing begging; living on alms.
  2. pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.


noun

  1. a person who lives by begging; beggar.
  2. a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property, subsisting mostly on alms.

mendicant

/ mɛnˈdɪsɪtɪ; ˈmɛndɪkənt /

adjective

  1. begging
  2. (of a member of a religious order) dependent on alms for sustenance

    mendicant friars

  3. characteristic of a beggar
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a mendicant friar
  2. a less common word for beggar
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈԻ徱Գ, noun
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • ԴDz·d·Գ adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendicant1

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin ԻīԳ- (stem of ԻīԲ ), present participle of Իī to beg, equivalent to Իī ( us ) beggarly, needy + -ant- -ant
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendicant1

C16: from Latin Իī to beg, from Իīus beggar, from mendus flaw
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Joining the Order of Saint Augustine, a mendicant order of the Catholic Church, Mendel was able to spend his life as a monk and therefore not have to worry about his livelihood.

From

The friend began to hand a few coins to the mendicant, but the revolutionary stopped him, exclaiming: “Don’t delay the revolution!”

From

Meanwhile, as Putin's military flattens cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol, making Russia an outlaw state, a mendicant Moscow is likely to become a cut-rate source of much-needed Chinese fuel and food imports.

From

Clare doesn’t understand why this son of a silk merchant is wandering around like a nutty mendicant, but she recognizes what they have in common and suspects he has much to teach her.

From

I dared to put off the mendicant—to resume my natural manner and character.

From

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


mendicancymendicity