Begard

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A man who belonged to an unordained lay religious brotherhood in the medieval Low Countries and Germany, living a devout life of prayer and charity
2. A male member of a medieval community of lay men who lived together in piety and service without taking formal monastic vows
3. One of the men in medieval northern Europe who joined a semi-religious fellowship devoted to poverty, prayer, and care for the sick

Etymology: The word belongs to the Low Countries, where a "beghard" was a man who lived a devout lay life in a religious community without taking full monastic vows. It is the male counterpart of the beguine, and the two names were likely formed from the same Dutch and Flemish root. Its exact derivation is uncertain. One popular explanation links the name to Lambert le Bègue, a priest associated with the beguine movement, and the name "le Bègue" means "the stammerer." Many scholars doubt that this link is correct, so it is best treated as an old story rather than a settled origin. In English, the form appears mainly in historical writing about medieval religious movements. Its use is specialized, and the sense of communal, unvowed devotion has mostly stayed in historical discussion rather than everyday speech.