Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

poor

/pʊɚ/ adjective

In Latin: pauper, egens Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about poor at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
We were so poor that we couldn't afford shoes.
Of low quality.
That was a poor performance.
Worthy of pity.
Oh, you poor thing, you're drenched!

noun

The poor people of a society or the world collectively, the poor class of a society.
The sun shines on the rich and the poor alike but, come the rain, the rich have better umbrellas.

noun

A poor person.
The poors are at it again.
Synonym of poor cod.

verb

Synonym of impoverish, to make poor.
To become poor.
To call someone poor.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English povre, povere, from Old French and Anglo-Norman povre, poure, from Latin pauper, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”). Doublet of pauper. Displanced native wantsome, Middle English unlede (“poor”, from Old English unlǣde), Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy”, from Old English un- + weliġ (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich”))

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word