poverty English · revision 5045

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1175|origins=la paupertas}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpɒv.ə.ti/, US /ˈpɑː.vɚ.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|poverte]], [[bor|fro|poverte|alt=poverte, poverté]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|paupertās]], from pauper “poor”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) so that it is related to [[poor]] and [[pauper]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lack of money or goods, being poor: about 1175 in the OED, the late 12th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Deliberate poverty as a Christian practice is from the early 13th century.^(Etymonline) Poverty of spirit, humility, alluding to the Beatitudes, is from the 13th century.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Figuratively, scantiness or dearth, it is from the mid-14th century (1388 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and inferiority in quality from 1387.^(OED 1989) The poor as a class are ''the poverty'' from 1433.^(OED 1989) ''Poverty-stricken'' is by 1778, ''poverty line'' from 1891, and ''poverty trap'' from 1966.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1175 – being poor.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 13th century – voluntary poverty.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1388 – scarcity.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1778 – ''poverty-stricken''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1891 – ''poverty line''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1966 – ''poverty trap''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being very poor.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A lack or scarcity of something: ''poverty of imagination''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Poor quality, as of soil.^(AHD)

+ # The giving up of the right to own property by a member of a religious order.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antipoverty]]

+ * [[poverty-stricken]]

+ * [[poverty line]]

+ * [[poverty grass]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[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.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}