Indigences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of experiencing severe poverty or lack of essential needs
2. A state characterized by significant financial deficiency and scarcity of basic requirements
3. A situation marked by the severe absence of money and fundamental resources needed for living

Etymology: Indigences is simply the plural of "indigence", so it refers to several instances or kinds of extreme financial hardship. The singular word arrived in Middle English in the late 14th century, borrowed from Old French "indigence" in the 13th century, which in turn came from Latin "indigentia". The Latin root is a plain and revealing piece of wordbuilding. "Indigentia" comes from "indigere", meaning "to need", which was formed from "indu", "in, within", and "egere", "to be in need or want". The English word therefore carries the original sense of being in need from within the self, a condition defined by what one lacks.

Synonyms: poverty, destitution, neediness, impoverishment, deprivation

Antonyms: wealth, affluence, prosperity, riches, opulence