Poors

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Having little money, resources, or means of support
2. lacking wealth or financial stability
3. describing individuals or groups facing economic hardship or deprivation in a society

Etymology: "Poors" is the plural of "poor" used as a noun, meaning people who lack wealth. The adjective "poor" traces back to Latin "pauper," meaning "few, small" in its Proto-Indo-European root, a sense that reflects a scarcity of resources rather than a moral judgment. The Latin word passed into Old French as "povre" and then into Middle English as "povere," which is why English keeps two forms of the same word: "poor," inherited through French, and "pauper," borrowed directly from Latin later. English did not rely only on that inheritance. Native words for lacking wealth, such as "unlede" from Old English and "unweli" or "unwely," formed from "un-" and "weliġ" meaning "well-to-do, prosperous, rich," were gradually displaced, so that the French-derived term almost entirely took over the role.

Synonyms: impoverished, needy, destitute, indigent, underprivileged

Antonyms: rich, wealthy, affluent, prosperous, well-off