Etymologically
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poverty

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 01:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpɒv.ə.ti/, US /ˈpɑː.vɚ.t̬i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English poverte, borrowed from Old French poverte, poverté,[2][3][4] from Latin paupertās, from pauper “poor”,[2][3][5] so that it is related to poor and pauper.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lack of money or goods, being poor: about 1175 in the OED, the late 12th century in Etymonline.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Deliberate poverty as a Christian practice is from the early 13th century.[2] Poverty of spirit, humility, alluding to the Beatitudes, is from the 13th century.[6][2] Figuratively, scantiness or dearth, it is from the mid-14th century (1388 in the OED),[2][6] and inferiority in quality from 1387.[6] The poor as a class are the poverty from 1433.[6] Poverty-stricken is by 1778, poverty line from 1891, and poverty trap from 1966.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – being poor.[6]
  • early 13th century – voluntary poverty.[2]
  • 1388 – scarcity.[6]
  • 1778 – poverty-stricken.[2]
  • 1891 – poverty line.[2]
  • 1966 – poverty trap.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state of being very poor.
  2. A lack or scarcity of something: poverty of imagination.
  3. Poor quality, as of soil.
  4. The giving up of the right to own property by a member of a religious order.

Word family

  • antipoverty
  • poverty-stricken
  • poverty line
  • poverty grass
  • impoverish
  • poor
  • pauper

Usage notes

Etymonline notes that poverty is a stronger word than being poor, while want is stronger still, meaning a lack even of necessities.[2]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press