beggar
n. countablen. a person who lives by asking people for money or food in the street. You usually see them in public places like train stations or city centers.
n. a person who lives by asking for money or food as charity, typically in public spaces. Often used metaphorically to describe someone who is extremely poor or lacks resources.
The beggar sat on the corner with a small cup.
In many large cities, you will find beggars near the entrances of busy subway stations during the morning rush.
The novelist depicts a city of sharp contrasts, where wealthy merchants walk past desperate beggars without a second glance, highlighting the social inequality of the era.
From Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar (“beggar”), from Middle English beggen (“to beg”), equivalent to beg + -ar. Alternative etymology derives Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar from Old French begart, originally a member of the Beghards, a lay brotherhood of mendicants in the Low Countries, from Middle Dutch beggaert (“mendicant”), with pejorative suffix (see -ard); the order is said to be named after the priest Lambert le Bègue of Liège (French for “Lambert the Stammerer”).
Commonly used in the phrase 'beggars can't be choosers' to mean that people in need must accept what is offered.