mendicant

men·di·cant

noun \ˈmen-di-kənt\

Definition of MENDICANT

1

: beggar 1

2

often capitalized : a member of a religious order (as the Franciscans) combining monastic life and outside religious activity and originally owning neither personal nor community property : friar

— mendicant adjective

Examples of MENDICANT

1. <those wretched mendicants on the streets of Calcutta>

Origin of MENDICANT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin mendicant-, mendicans, present participle of mendicare to beg, from mendicus beggar — more at amend

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to MENDICANT

Synonyms: beggar, panhandler

Related Words: bohemian, bum, clochard, drifter, hobo, tramp, vagabond, vagrant; guttersnipe, urchin, waif; miserable, pauper; bludger [chiefly Australian & New Zealand], cadger, hanger-on, leech, moocher, parasite, schnorrer, sponge, sponger; dependent; deadbeat, derelict, idler, ne'er-do-well

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