Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Practicing begging; living by asking for alms: Describes someone who survives by asking for money or food from others, often as a way of life or religious practice.
   • Relating to or characteristic of a beggar: Pertaining to the state or condition of being a beggar.

2. Noun:

   • A beggar; a pauper who lives by asking for charity: A person, typically poor, who solicits money or gifts from others.
   • A member of a religious order who originally relied solely on alms for survival: Specifically, a friar (such as a Franciscan or Dominican) who, by vow of poverty, depended on charitable donations for food and shelter.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The mendicant monk traveled from village to village with only a bowl for alms.
  • They were shocked by the mendicant lifestyle of the pilgrims.

• Noun:

  • The kind woman gave a coin to the mendicant at the city gate.
  • St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most famous mendicants in religious history.

Advanced Usage

• "Mendicant orders": Refers to religious orders, like the Franciscans or Carmelites, whose members originally took vows of poverty and traveled to preach, relying on charitable donations for their basic needs.
  • The rise of mendicant orders in the 13th century changed the structure of the medieval church.

Variants and Related Words

• Mendicancy (n): The practice of begging; the condition of being a beggar.
  • Laws in some cities aim to reduce public mendicancy.

Synonyms

• Beggar: A person who lives by asking for money or food.
• Pauper: A very poor person.
• Friar: A member of certain religious orders of men.

Related Phrases

• Mendicant friar: The specific term for a religious friar who begs for alms.
  • The mendicant friar preached a sermon on humility and charity.

Adjective

1. practicing beggary
   • mendicant friars

Noun

1. a pauper who lives by begging
2. a male member of a religious order that originally relied solely on alms