Clochard

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A homeless person or vagrant, especially one who sleeps in the streets and begs for money or food
2. A person living on the streets, often lacking shelter, who typically survives by begging for assistance or scavenging for food and necessities
3. An individual who is without stable housing, often found in urban areas, relying on the generosity of others for survival and sustenance

Etymology: "Clochard" is French, and its core is the word "cloche," meaning "bell." The French slang term is generally understood to come from "clocher," a verb meaning "to limp" or "to hobble" (related to "clopin-clopant," "limping along"), with the agent sense of one who goes lame or unsteadily on foot. The "cloche" word is itself linked to "clocher," which in turn points to the idea of a limping gait, so the vagrant's name is tied to how he walked rather than to church bells. The English borrowing is recent by dictionary standards, and it kept the French meaning intact: a person who lives rough on the streets, often begging. Because it came in as a French term, it still carries the sense of a specific social type rather than a general word for the poor, which is why English speakers tend to reach for it when describing the Parisian street figure. The word "clochard" was borrowed directly from French, not inherited through Latin.

Synonyms: beggar, vagrant

Antonyms: wealthy person, giver