Etymology : Middle English poure, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; akin to Latin paucus little and to Latin parere to give birth to, produce; more at FEW, PARE
Pronunciation : pur, pOr
Function : adjective
Date : 13th century
1. indigent, poor; miserable, woeful; wretched, pitiable; deficient, lacking. people who live in poverty, indigents. poor\poor\ , a. [compar. poorer (?; 254); superl. poorest.] [oe. poure or povre, of. povre, f. pauvre, l. pauper; the first syllable of which is probably akin to paucus few (see:
paucity, few), and the second to parare to prepare, procure. see:
few, and cf. parade, pauper, poverty.].
2. destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent.note: it is often synonymous with indigent and with necessitous denoting extreme want. it is also applied to persons who are not entirely destitute of property, but who are not rich; as, a poor man or woman; poor people.
3. (law) so completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
4. hence, in very various applications: destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected; as: (a) wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc. "seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed." xli.
5. (b) wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits. "his genius poor and cowardly." (c) of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings. "a poor vessel." (d) destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; -- said of land; as, poor soil. (e) destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture. (f) without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night. (g) inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse. that i have wronged no man will be a poor plea or apology at the last day. alamy.
6. worthy of pity or sympathy; -- used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt. and for mine own poor part, look you, i'll go pray. poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing.
7. free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek. "blessed are the poor in spirit." v. 3.poor law, a law providing for, or regulating, the relief or support of the poor.poor man's treacle (bot.), garlic; -- so called because it was thought to be an antidote to animal poison. [eng] prior.poor man's weatherglass (bot.), the red-flowered pimpernel (anagallis arvensis), which opens its blossoms only in fair weather.poor rate, an assessment or tax, as in an english parish, for the relief or support of the poor.poor soldier (zo?l.), the friar bird.
8. Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent.
9. So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
10. Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc.
11. Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits.
12. Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings.
13. Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; said of land; as, poor soil.
14. Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture.
15. Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night.
16. Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse.
17. Worthy of pity or sympathy; used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt.
18. Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
19. A small European codfish ; called also power cod. unsatisfactory; "a poor light for reading"; "poor morale" low in degree; "expectations were poor" having little money or few possessions; "deplored the gap between rich and poor countries"; "the proverbial poor artist living in a garret" badly supplied with desirable qualities or substances; "a poor land"; "the area was poor in timber and coal"; "food poor in nutritive value" characterized by or indicating lack of money; "the country had a poor economy".
20. 1. Someone who is poor has very little money and few possessions. The reason our schools cannot afford better teachers is because people here are poor He was one of thirteen children from a poor family. ¡Ù rich The poor are people who are poor. Even the poor have their pride.
21. The people in a poor country or area have very little money and few possessions. Many countries in the Third World are as poor as they have ever been. a settlement house for children in a poor neighborhood. ¡Ù rich.
22. feelings You use poor to express your sympathy for someone. I feel sorry for that poor child Poor chap -- he was killed in an air crash.
23. If you describe something as poor, you mean that it is of a low quality or standard or that it is in bad condition. The flat was in a poor state of repair The wine was poor. + poorly poor·ly Some are living in poorly built dormitories, even in tents.
24. If you describe an amount, rate, or number as poor, you mean that it is less than expected or less than is considered reasonable. poor wages and working conditions. + poorly poor·ly During the first week, the evening meetings were poorly attended = badly.
25. You use poor to describe someone who is not very skilful in a particular activity. He was a poor actor Hospitals are poor at collecting information. + poorly poor·ly That is the fact of Hungarian football -- they can play very well or very poorly.
26. If something is poor in a particular quality or substance, it contains very little of the quality or substance. soil that is poor in zinc.
Cep-Sözlük
| Sözlük-Forum
| Araçlar yeni
| Hakkımızda
| Erişim
| SSS
| Linkler | Şifremi unuttum | Sözlüğe Kelime Ekle 
