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 12often 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