mendicity

/men'disiti/

Thân thiện

A man sits on a city sidewalk, quietly practicing mendicity.

Definition

Noun: - The state or condition of being a beggar; the practice of begging for a living. It refers to the status of relying on asking for money or help from others as a primary means of subsistence.

Usage

The word "mendicity" is a formal and somewhat archaic term. It is used to describe the general condition or practice of begging, often in a societal or legal context, rather than describing a single act of begging. - The new law aimed to reduce mendicity in the city's streets. - Historical records show that periods of famine led to widespread mendicity.

Examples

• The economic depression forced many into a life of mendicity.
• Charitable organizations in the 19th century sought to address the root causes of mendicity, not just its symptoms.
• Mendicity was a visible social problem in the pre-industrial era.

Advanced Usage

• Legal/Historical Context: The term is often found in historical, sociological, or legal texts discussing poverty and social welfare.
  • The "Mendicity Society" was a 19th-century institution that investigated and tried to manage the problem of begging.

Variants and Related Words

• Mendicant (noun/adjective): A person who lives by begging; relating to or characteristic of a beggar.
  • The mendicant friar took a vow of poverty.
• Mendicancy (noun): A direct synonym for "mendicity," meaning the state of being a mendicant or the practice of begging.
  • They were reduced to mendicancy after losing their farm.

Synonyms

• Beggary
• Panhandling (more modern/informal, specifically for asking for money in public)
• Cadging (informal)

Antonyms

• Affluence
• Self-sufficiency
• Independence

Học thuật

Noun

1. the state of being a beggar or mendicant
   • they were reduced to mendicancy

Từ đồng nghĩa

• beggary
• mendicancy