| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| beggar |
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| SYLLABICATION: | beg·gar |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b g  r |
| NOUN: | 1. One who solicits alms for a living. 2. An impoverished person; a pauper. 3. Informal A man or a boy. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: beg·gared, beg·gar·ing, beg·gars
1. To make a beggar of; impoverish. 2. To exceed the limits, resources, or capabilities of: beauty that beggars description. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old French begart, ultimately from Middle Dutch beggaert, one who rattles off prayers.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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