Main Entry: men·di·cant

Pronunciation: \ˈmen-di-kənt\

Function: noun

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

Date: 14th century

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