mendicant English · revision 1091
11 Oct 2026, 04:59 by bogdan “New entry from dictionary sources” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈmɛn.dɪ.kənt/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It comes from Middle English ''mendicaunt'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Old French^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and [[la|mendicans]], the present participle of ''mendīcāre'' “to beg”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''mendīcus'' “beggar”, originally “cripple”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''menda'' “fault, physical defect”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[amend]] and [[mend]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A beggar (1395 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline; 1474 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The adjective was applied to the religious orders that lived entirely on alms, such as the Franciscans, Carmelites and Augustinians (late 15th century; 1547 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An older Middle English word for these orders was ''mendinant'' (mid-14th century).^(Etymonline) The sense “begging, reduced to beggary” is from the 1610s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun also named a begging friar (1530).^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * mid-14th century – ''mendinant''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1395 – ''mendicaunt'', a beggar.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1470 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1530 – a begging friar.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1613 – begging, of a beggar.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Depending on [[alms]] for a living; begging.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Of or relating to a [[beggar]].^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A beggar.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(often capitalized)'' A member of a religious order of [[friar|alt=friars]], such as the Franciscans, originally forbidden to own property and living on alms.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[mendicancy]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[mendicity]]
+ * [[amend]]
+ * [[mend]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}