beggar Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a pauper who lives by begging
    mendicant.
  2. verb be beyond the resources of
    • This beggars description!
  3. verb reduce to beggary
    pauperize; pauperise.

WordNet

Beg"gar noun
Etymology
OE. beggere, fr. beg.
Definitions
  1. One who begs; one who asks or entreats earnestly, or with humility; a petitioner.
  2. One who makes it his business to ask alms.
  3. One who is dependent upon others for support; -- a contemptuous or sarcastic use.
  4. One who assumes in argument what he does not prove. Abp. Tillotson.
Beg"gar transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Beggared present participle & verbal noun Beggaring
Definitions
  1. To reduce to beggary; to impoverish; as, he had beggared himself. Milton.
  2. To cause to seem very poor and inadequate.
    It beggared all description. Shak.

Webster 1913