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| men·di·cant [ méndikənt ] |
adjective |
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| Definition: |
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living on charity: begging for and living on money given by strangers
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noun (plural men·di·cants) |
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| Definition: |
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1. beggar: a beggar, especially somebody who begs in the street
(
formal
)
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2. friar who lives by begging: a member of a religious order such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, or Augustinians that forbids the ownership of property and encourages working or begging for a living
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| [14th century. < Latin mendicant-, present participle of mendicare "beg" < mendicus "beggar" < mendum "a defect"] |
