pauper
What does "pauper" mean?
A pauper is a person who is extremely poor, often to the point of being completely destitute or reliant on public charity for survival. The mental image is one of someone in tattered clothes, perhaps holding out a hand for coins or living in the most desperate of conditions. While the term is historically associated with legal systems that provided relief for the poor, in modern English, it is used primarily in literary or slightly dramatic contexts to emphasize severe poverty. It is rarely used in casual conversation to describe someone who is simply "broke"; it carries a weight of total lack of means.
"pauper" in conversation
A historical novel discussion
Do you think he actually stole the bread because he was hungry?
Do you think he actually stole the bread because he was hungry?
He was a total pauper at that point in the story, so he had no other choice.
He was a total pauper at that point in the story, so he had no other choice.
Used here to emphasize the character's absolute lack of financial resources.
Mocking a friend's empty wallet
Can we go out for dinner tonight?
Can we go out for dinner tonight?
I'm a pauper until payday, unfortunately.
I'm a pauper until payday, unfortunately.
Used hyperbolically and humorously to describe temporary lack of money.
"pauper" in a sentence
The pauper stood on the corner hoping for a bit of bread.
The pauper stood on the corner hoping for a bit of bread.
She went from a wealthy heiress to a penniless pauper in just a few years.
She went from a wealthy heiress to a penniless pauper in just a few years.
The charity was established to provide basic necessities for the local paupers.
The charity was established to provide basic necessities for the local paupers.
