poorn.2
/pɔː/, /pʊə/, U.S. /pʊ(ə)r/, /pɔr/ A small marine fish, Trisopterus minutus (family Gadidae), found in coastal and offshore waters of western Europe. Now only in poor-cod.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Gadiformes (cod) > [noun] > family Gadidae > genus Gadus > trisopterus minutus (poor-cod)
poor1427
power1713
Norway pout1925
1427 in Notes & Queries (1964) 209 171/1 Poures.
1713 G. Jago in Ray's Synopsis 163 Asellus mollis minimus. Cornub. Poor vel Power dictus.
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 150 Poor or Power.
1828 J. Fleming Hist. Brit. Animals 191 Morhua. Cod... M. minuta. Poor.—Nine punctures on each side of the jaws and gill-covers.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 161 The Power, or Poor Cod, the smallest of its genus, so called, it is said, on account of its diminutive size, seldom exceeding six or seven inches in length.
1925 J. T. Jenkins Fishes Brit. Isles 149 The Poor Cod ranges from Trondhjem to the Mediterranean.
1969 A. Wheeler Fishes Brit. Isles & N.-W. Europe 272/1 The poor-cod is caught mainly in trawls.
1995 ICES Jrnl. Marine Sci. 52 873 In July..poor-cod were feeding on decapods, isopods and polychaetes mainly at night.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pooradj.n.1
/pɔː/, /pʊə/, U.S. /pʊ(ə)r/, /pɔr/α. Middle English pawre (perhaps transmission error), Middle English–1500s poure, Middle English–1500s powr, Middle English– 1500s pour, Middle English– 1500s powre; Scottish pre-1700 peoure, pre-1700 pour, pre-1700 poure, pre-1700 powr, pre-1700 powre. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 47 Gif hie was poure.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4375 Leuer es me be pour [a1400 Gött. pouer; a1400 Trin. Cambr. pore] and lele.1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xviii. 400 He lived like an heremyte a poure liffe.1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iv. 117 The foure powre knyghtes.1535 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 125 The helpe and socour of my pour soule.1682 in D. M. Lyon Hist. Lodge Edinb. (1873) 29 Having tackin it to ther sereas considarashon the great nesetay of thar pour.
β. Middle English poer, Middle English poere, Middle English poeuere, Middle English poeure, Middle English pouere, Middle English pouerre, Middle English pouir, Middle English povere, Middle English powere, Middle English powyr, Middle English–1500s pouer, Middle English–1500s pover, Middle English–1500s power, Middle English– 1500s povre, 1500s poware; Scottish pre-1700 pooer, pre-1700 pouer, pre-1700 pouere, pre-1700 pouir, pre-1700 pover, pre-1700 povir, pre-1700 powere, pre-1700 powir, pre-1700 1700s poer, pre-1700 1700s power. a1275 Body & Soul (Trin. Cambr. B.14.39) l. 146 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 146 Þu [read Wu] pouerre, in þis world þu were ibrout?c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 11335 Riche men and pouere [c1300 Otho pore].?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 69 Be þe peple neuere so poer.?c1430 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 518 Poeure, nedy men.a1450 York Plays (1885) 435 And yf so be that she be power [rhyme honoure].c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle 453 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 142 Vith powere folk.1540 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 108 My power frendes and neghbors.?a1560 in T. Wright Songs & Ballads Reign Philip & Mary (1860) 11 Uppone the poware commens.a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 597 The Appostles..chusit the seven Decounes to ministrat the tabiles, and tak cair of the powir.1790 A. Shirrefs Poems Gloss. 28/1 Poer, poor.
γ. Middle English porre, Middle English 1600s por, Middle English–1600s poore, Middle English–1600s (1700s– English regional) pore, Middle English– poor, 1800s boor (Irish English (Wexford)); U.S. regional 1800s– po, 1800s– po', 1800s– pore, 1900s– po-uh; Scottish pre-1700 poare, pre-1700 poore, pre-1700 por, pre-1700 pore, pre-1700 1700s– poor. a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 64 Þu lettis þe pore stondin þrute in forist & in is.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 11335 Riche and pore.a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 84 Forsoþe y am a beggere and poore.c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 73 The pore comons.1536 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 132 Desyuryng you..to be good and gracyus lord unto me synful and poor creatur.1592 Bess of Hardwick Let. 21 Sept. in www.bessofhardwick.org (accessed 8 May 2017) clxiii Against ye pore chyld.1611 Bible (King James) James ii. 2 A poore man in vile raiment.1629 W. Mure True Crucifixe 2587 In soule most pore [rhyme Ore].1677 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 36 To honour my poore house.1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xviii. 150 I am a poor, but honest cobler's son.1891 W. Morris News from Nowhere xi. 87 What must happen if in a poor country some people insist on being rich at the expense of the others?1933 M. K. Rawlings South Moon Under 141 They're pore as snakes, and their tongues hangin' out for water.1994 B. Levin Times 31 May 16 The desperately poor death of Beau Brummel.
δ. Chiefly northern Middle English poyr, Middle English pure, Middle English pwyr, Middle English–1500s pur, 1500s pwrre, 1500s pvr, 1800s peer (English regional (north-western)); also Irish English (northern) 1900s– pair, 1900s– peer; Scottish pre-1700 pere (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 peure, pre-1700 poir, pre-1700 poire, pre-1700 pooir, pre-1700 poyr, pre-1700 puer, pre-1700 puier, pre-1700 puire, pre-1700 puiyr, pre-1700 puuir, pre-1700 puyer, pre-1700 puyr, pre-1700 puyre, pre-1700 pwir, pre-1700 pwire, pre-1700 pwor, pre-1700 pwr, pre-1700 pwre, pre-1700 1700s– puir /y/, pre-1700 1700s– pure, pre-1700 (1800s Orkney) peur, pre-1700 1800s– pur, 1800s püir (Shetland), 1800s pür (Shetland), 1800s– pair (central), 1800s– peer (north-eastern), 1800s– pör (Shetland), 1900s– paer (south-western), 1900s– pear (north-eastern), 1900s– peeir (north-eastern), 1900s– peir (north-eastern). 1394 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. cxlviii. 185 I will that on the day of my byrying that ilk a pur man that es at the kyrk dor present have ane ob'.a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 509 Naked we come hider, and bare And pure. ▸ 1434 R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Mending of Life 110 Blissyd be þai þat ar poyr in spirytt.c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle 365 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 139 Puyre & riche men elyke.1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 294 Pure [?c1475 BL Add. 15562 Pwyr].1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 467 Our rewme is pur, waistit be Sotheroun blud.1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 14 Thair pwir frendis.1539 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 165 Puyr boddeis.1568 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlvii. 82 Quhat cummer castis the formest stane..At tha peure winschis.1657 J. Nicoll Diary (1836) 201 Fyve pure Scottis misterfull men.1785 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 125 They talk o' mercy, grace an' truth, For what?—to gie their malice skouth On some puir wight.1805 R. Anderson Ballads in Cumberland Dial. 33 She..can always feel For peer fwok when distrest.1835 J. Monteath Dunblane Trad. (1887) 32 The woman,..observing the poor man,..began a colloquy in the following terms:–‘Pair body, will ye tak a wee drap broo to warm you?’1876 D. Gilmour Paisley Weavers 71 But it’s a' puir, caul', fushonless grun' roon here.1952 R. T. Johnston Stenwick Days (1984) 26 An' come wi' less aboot bein' a peur ould fermer.1985 L. Lochhead tr. Molière Tartuffe 3 Her pair, deid, mither would turn in her grave.2000 J. Robertson Fanatic 101 We are baith here, lamentin that puir broken laddie.
A. adj.
1.
a. Of a person or people: having few, or no, material possessions; lacking the means to procure the comforts or necessities of life, or to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in society; needy, necessitous, indigent, destitute. Sometimes: spec. so destitute as to be dependent upon gifts or allowances for subsistence. Opposed to rich. In common use expressing various degrees, from absolute destitution to means considered to be inadequate relative to a particular station, profession, etc.Poor Clares, poor debtor, poor vicar, poor white: see the second element.For some of the commoner proverbial comparisons see church mouse n., Job n.1, rat n.1 Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor
havelessOE
unrichOE
waedlec1000
armOE
nakedOE
helplessc1175
wantsomec1175
poora1200
barec1220
needfula1225
misease?c1225
unwealya1300
needyc1325
feeblec1330
poorful1372
mischievousc1390
miseasedc1390
indigentc1400
meanc1400
naughtyc1400
succourless1412
unwealthyc1412
behove1413
misterousa1425
misterfulc1480
miserablec1485
beggarly1545
starved1563
threadbare1577
penurious1590
fortuneless1596
wealthless1605
wantful1607
necessitous1611
inopulent1613
titheless1615
egene1631
starveling1638
necessitated1646
inopious1656
parsimonious1782
unopulent1782
lacking1805
bushed1819
obolary1820
ill-to-do1853
down at heel1856
po'1866
needsome1870
down-at-heeled1884
rocky1921
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 47 Gif hie was poure.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 30 Ich iseh þe apostles, poure & lah on eorðe.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 167 (MED) A pouere wydewe þer com and offrede a fferþing.
c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 260 He was nat lyk a cloystrer With a thredbare cope, as is a poure [v.rr. pore, pouer] scoler.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13312 (MED) To petre þat he pouerest fand, Of all he mad him mast weldand.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 63 He was poore and poorly arayde.
1496 Act 12 Hen. VII c. 6 Woollen Cloth..by making whereof..the poor People have most universally their Living.
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance v. f. 10 Gyuynge to poore and honeste mennes chyldren that hard them, theyr commons fre.
1547–8 in E. Green Somerset Chantries (1888) 12 Ther is within the saide paryshe a house of poore people, callyd the spitle howse.
1588 T. Hariot Briefe Rep. Virginia sig. E2(2) In respect of vs they are a people poore.
1606 J. Hind Eliosto Libidinoso i. 60 The man (my Liege) is poore, but honest; his name Lewesohiln, a Farmer by profession.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 20 If thou be as poore for a subiect, as he is for a King, thar't poore enough. View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 180 As well the rich, and mighty, as poor and obscure persons.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. Pref. The whole Kingdom grows every day poorer and poorer.
1701 T. Hewerdine Countrey-curate to Countrey-people iv. 55 There were a Company of poor People very hungry and ready to starve, bedding at a Rich Man's Gates.
1741 H. Fielding Shamela x Let me go home to my poor but honest Parents.
1769 W. Buchan Domest. Med. i. 31 Mothers of the poorer sort.
1811 M. Brunton Self-control (ed. 2) III. xxiv. 285 She invited an elderly widow lady, poor, but respectable, to preside in her household.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. iv. 55 They are almost like poor people's children!
1885 Cent. Mag. May 50/1 Her parents were poor, and could not buy any wedding trousseau for her.
1910 Times 21 Mar. 13/1 The Brighton police aided scheme for clothing poor children, in which the King recently showed an interest.
1952 N. Mandela Struggle is my Life (1978) ii. iii. 37 The people are too poor to have enough food to feed their families and children.
1992 U.S. News & World Rep. 28 Dec. 102 In the 1950s, most people couldn't live sitcom lives, 30 percent of kids and 55 percent of two-parent black families were poor.
b. Of things, places, conditions, etc.: afflicted or characterized by poverty. Also: indicative of poverty, as by being worn or shabby.to make a poor mouth: see mouth n. Phrases 1k.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective]
poorc1300
straitc1300
porail1514
needy1574
necessitous1608
down at heel1856
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 6055 Hii wende hiderward and pore [c1275 Calig. hene] lond makede.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7617 (MED) Vnneþe was þer eni hous in al normandie Of religion..Þat king willam ne feffede here in engelonde..Ware þoru þis lond nede mot þe pouerore be.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13272 Mene men o pour [a1400 Gött. simpil] lijf [a1400 Fairf. men of pouer fode] .
1450 in A. Clark Lincoln Diocese Documents (1914) 42 (MED) I wol that..the remenauntz of whete..be departed in..Sulgrave, Stotesbury, and other poer townes.
a1500 St. Brendan's Confession (Lamb.) 121 in Geibun-Kenkyu (1968) 25 10 (MED) I haue not holde me apaied in alle tymes wiþ þe pore astaat þat þou hast sette me ynne.
1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Induct. xxxviii To this poore life was Miserie ybound.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 115 Delos..once rich and populous, now poore and peoplelesse.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. vi. 143 Here he [sc. Christ]..had his poor and painfull education, working on his Fathers trade.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Eng. 57 Forced..to take..poor and painful Employments for their Livelyhood.
a1742 in Ann. Reg. (1762) ii. 52 I have lived three years in a poor cottage under your warren-wall.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 281 She shewed them one poor apartment.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. xii. 311 I'm sorry to see ye in sic a peer state, man.
1891 W. Morris News from Nowhere xi. 87 What must happen if in a poor country some people insist on being rich at the expense of the others?
1909 Chatterbox 62/2 The cottages are far better than the poor hovels of the olden time.
1994 B. Levin Times 31 May 16 The desperately poor death of Beau Brummel.
c. figurative, usually with reference to a person's soul, spirit, etc. In later use chiefly with qualifying adverb.The use in relation to spirit (or †ghost), usually suggesting meekness or modesty, has been much influenced by the first Beatitude in Matthew 5:3 (‘blessed are the poor in spirit’); formerly occasionally used in this sense without contextual indication, as in quot. c1450 (cf. also sense A. 2c).
ΚΠ
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 164 Þouh man haue muche katel..Ȝit he may be pore of mod And low of herte.
c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) 890 (MED) Þou lete me a luitel cleche Of þulke [grace] þat alle frouere Þat gostliche beoþ in herte pouere.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 40 (MED) So is he [sc. Avarice] povere, and everemore Him lacketh that he hath ynowh.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 5695 An usurer..Shal nevere for richesse riche be, But evermore pore and indigent.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4021 (MED) A progenie of pore men þat neuir pride hauntis.
a1475 Revelation St. Birgitta (Garrett) 104 Þou most meke the anempst hem that bene poure gostly; that is to seye, anempst synners.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 170 Quho in warld moist covatus is In warld is purast man, iwis.
c1550 T. Becon Flour of Godly Praiers f. cxvii To be pore in spirit, not to be puffed vp with arrogancy, pride, ambicion, and vayn glory.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 166 He that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that, which not inriches him, And makes me poore indeed. View more context for this quotation
1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans (ed. 2) ii. 59 He that doth seek and love The things above, Whose spirit ever poor, is meek and low.
1722 L. Herbert Several Excellent Methods hearing Mass 46 We have in the Sacrifice of Holy Mass, a treasure so great, that all blessings are contain'd in it;..and for want of knowing how to make use of it, we are spiritually poor.
?1750 Whole Duty of Christian 9 He that is destitute of the grace and spirit of Christ, that has no sense of his spiritual wants, he is spiritually poor, but he is not poor in spirit.
1779 G. Lambert Serm. on Var. Useful & Important Subj. I. 321 Whether they are meek, humble, poor of spirit, holy, merciful, and compassionate towards all men.
1834 J. S. Mill in Monthly Repos. 8 837 Any people so poor in spirit, that even the unwarlike Mysians could plunder them with impunity.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Wks. (1907–8) 179 I that thought myself long-suffering, meek, Exceeding ‘poor in spirit’.
1867 J. Ingelow Regret 12 They are poor That have lost nothing; they are poorer far Who, losing, have forgotten.
1954 B. Russell Hist. as Art 9 What they aim at transmitting to their successors seems jejune and emotionally poor to one in whom the past is vivid and the future is illuminated by knowledge of [etc.].
1962 W. H. Fisher To light Candle i. x. 102 Should I be bedraggled in appearance and pretend to be poor in spirit?
2002 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 26 July a1 By looking at Jesus, you will learn..what it means to seek justice, to be poor in heart, be peacemakers.
2004 Daily Mail (Nexis) 18 Nov. 69 Campbell..enjoys a financially rich but spiritually poor single life that consists of work and one-night stands.
2.
a. Lacking or deficient in the proper or desired quality; of little excellence or worth; of a low or inferior standard or quality. See also sense A. 4.When applied to wit or intellect not always distinguishable from sense A. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective]
evil971
lowc1175
poor?c1225
feeblec1275
vilea1300
petty1372
unthende1377
secondary1386
petitc1390
unmeeta1393
illa1400
commonc1400
coarse1424
indigent1426
unlikelyc1450
lesser1464
gross1474
naughty1526
inferior1531
reprobate?1545
slender1577
unlikely1578
puny1579
under1580
wooden1592
sordid1596
puisne1598
provant1601
subministrant1604
inferious1607
sublunary1624
indifferent1638
undermatched1642
unworthy1646
underly1648
turncoated1650
female1652
undergraduate1655
farandinical1675
baddishc1736
ungenerous1745
understrapping1762
tinnified1794
demi-semi1805
shabby1805
dicky1819
poor white1821
tin-pot1838
deterior1848
substandard1850
crumby1859
cheesy1863
po'1866
not-quite1867
rocky1873
mouldy1876
low-grade1878
sketchy1878
midget1879
junky1880
ullaged1892
abysmal1904
bodgie1905
junk1908
crap1936
ropy1941
bodger1945
two-star1951
tripey1955
manky1958
schlocky1960
cack1978
wank1991
bowf1994
the mind > possession > non-possession > [adjective] > devoid of something > a quality
poor?c1225
defectivea1398
imperfectc1400
spoliate?a1500
reprimate1579
abortivatea1640
manqué1773
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 150 Pusillamitas..is to poure heorte. & to arch to ani hech þing vnderfon.
a1300 Woman of Samaria l. 27 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 85 (MED) Heo nuste hwat heo mende; heo wes of wytte poure.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 29 (MED) Þat i telle a poure play þat furst is feir ant seþþe vnsete.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. 2411 (MED) There ben fulmanye yeres stole With thee and with suche othre mo, That outward feignen youthe so And ben withinne of pore assay.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 14869 Þis folk..O littel wijt, o pour resun.
a1475 ( J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1911) i. 14 (MED) A Royal Ruby..May closed ben in a ful pore sak.
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Pvj Although it be a poore help.
1580 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 280 Ye ar bot puir theiffis ye dar do na thing for quhen I was in serwice as ye ar I wald haif my pairt of sic stuff as was in that hous.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia 51 Such poore bridges, onely made of a few cratches thrust in the o[o]se, and three or four poles laid on them.
1656 W. Denton Let. 29 Dec. in M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family Commonwealth (1894) 287 But a poore Xtmas dinner no sweet plum broath nor plum pye.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 288 They made but poor Work of it.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World x. 313 I had a pretty good ship under foot, though she made but a poor figure.
1776 Pennsylvania Evening Post 28 Mar. 160/2 He..is a poor writer and speller.
a1777 S. Foote Maid of Bath (1778) i. 8 How often has Dr. Carawitchet told you, that your rich food and champaigne would produce nothing but poor health and real pain?
1824 B. Hall Extracts Jrnl. Coasts Chili, Peru, & Mexico II. x. 146 The abstract feeling of independence..was considered..a very poor compensation for the gentle military despotism in which they had been lately held.
1834 H. Venn Life & Lett. (1835) 407 At best she enjoys poor health.
1843 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 252 Seditious cries will make a poor battle against cannon.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lii. 301 The poor paving of the streets and their lack of cleanliness.
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers xiii. 359 He was a poor swimmer, and could not stay long in the water.
1938 C. Headlam Diary 10 Apr. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) ii. 127 There is such a spate of books nowadays about current topics that one simply must read some of them... Most of them are pretty poor stuff.
1970 Jrnl. Med. Genetics 7 180/2 The proposita..presented as a profoundly retarded, 21-year-old girl with poor posture.
2001 I. J. Deary Intelligence v. 93 If only 10 people apply you have to take all comers—those who will be good, mediocre, and poor at the job.
b. Used to express deprecation (for reasons of modesty, in polite formulae, etc.) of oneself, one's actions, or something belonging to or offered by oneself: of little worth or pretension; lowly; undeserving.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] > of qualities or actions
humblec1374
poorc1500
c1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Bodl. 902) viii. 3050* (MED) This povere book heer I presente Unto his hihe worthinesse.
1427 Petition (P.R.O.) cxxiv. 6187 (MED) Besecheth lowely youre pouere preest and bedeman William Moortoun, [etc.].
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) xcix (MED) Unto youre grace lat now ben acceptable my pure request.
1585 J. Stell in T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie Ep. Ded. To exclude olde men..is (in my poore conceipt) palpable erronious.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 135 For my owne poore parte, ile go pray.
1605 W. Camden Remaines Ded. sig. A3 This silly, pittiful, and poore Treatise.
1662 Birth of Merlin (1929) i. ii. 207 If my poor presence breed dislike, great prince, I am no such neglected soul, will seek to tie you to your word.
1701 D. Defoe Succession Crown of Eng. Considered 18 The way is, in my poor Opinion, first to send him into England, and commit him to such Governours as the Nation may be very well satisfied in.
a1745 J. Swift Drapier's Lett. in Wks. (1941) 130 To be without power or distinction, is not, in my poor opinion, a very amiable situation to a person of title.
1794 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1956) I. 107 However you have both the Esse & the Posse of my poor Muse.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iii. 100 If from my poor Retirement ye had gone Leaving this Nook unvisited. View more context for this quotation
1863 E. E. Stuart Let. 24 Jan. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) II. 980 To my poor pigmy mind it is solemn to think of the many fine characters who have been called from Earth.
1915 H. James Let. 13 Aug. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) vi. 350 Send my poor Copy straight to the Scribners with a little supplementary word.
1926 Cook County (Illinois) Herald 26 Mar. In my poor judgment Jud Judkins was the star actor.
1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Magic Mountain (London ed.) I. iii. 62 If I may take the occasion to give you the benefit of my poor opinion..I would suggest that you do just as your cousin does.
1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) vii. 271 If my poor pen should be caused anywhere to stumble, you will consider in recompense all the unseen and unknown ways through which it has toiled.
c. †Mentally or morally inferior; lacking in courage or spirit (obsolete). Later more generally: low, mean, contemptible. Now rare or merged in other senses.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [adjective] > contemptible
unworthc893
unwrastc893
littleOE
narrow-hearteda1200
wretcha1200
unworthya1240
wretchedc1250
un-i-wrastc1275
bad1276
lechera1300
feeblea1325
despisablea1340
villain1340
contemptiblec1384
lousyc1386
caitiff1393
brothelyc1400
roinousa1425
poor1425
sevenpennyc1475
nasty1477
peakish1519
filthy1533
despectuous1541
beggary1542
scald1542
shitten?1545
disdainfula1547
contemptuous1549
despicable1553
skit-brained?1553
contemniblea1555
vile1560
sluttish1561
queer1567
scornful1570
scallardc1575
tinkerly?1576
worthless1576
beggarly?1577
paltry1578
halfpenny1579
dog bolt1580
pitiful1582
sneaking1582
triobolar1585
wormisha1586
baddy1586
dudgeon1592
measled1596
packstaff1598
roguey1598
roguish1601
contemptful1608
grovelling1608
lightly1608
disdainable1611
purulent1611
snotty-nose1622
vilipendious1630
cittern-headed1638
wormy1640
pissabed1643
triobolary1644
disparageable1648
blue-bellied1652
unestimable1656
scullion1658
piteous1667
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
snotty1681
snotty-nosed1682
mucky1683
bollocky1694
scoundrel1700
scaldeda1704
sneaking1703
ficulnean1716
unsolid1731
pitiable1753
scrubby1754
inimitable1798
scrubbish1798
worm-likea1807
small1824
lowlife1827
ketty1828
skunkish1831
yellow-bellied1833
scaly1843
cockroachya1845
wutless1853
nigger1859
trashy1862
low-down1872
cruddy1877
shitty1879
tinhorn1886
blithering1889
motherfucking1890
snidey1890
pilgarlicky1894
shitass1895
shoddy1918
yah boo1921
bitching1929
shit-faced1932
turdish1936
fricking1937
jerk-off1937
chickenshit1940
sheg-up1941
snot-nosed1941
jerky1944
mother-loving1948
scroungy1948
fecking1952
pissant1952
shit-kicking1953
shit-eating1956
bumboclaat1957
rassclaat1957
shit-headed1959
farkakte1960
shithouse1966
daggy1967
dipshit1968
scuzzy1969
bloodclaat1971
bitch ass1972
wanky1972
streelish1974
twatty1975
twattish1976
dweeby1988
douchey1991
wank1991
cockish1996
the mind > emotion > fear > cowardice or pusillanimity > [adjective] > abjectly cowardly
recrayedc1330
recreantc1330
craven?a1400
poor1425
currishc1460
fazart1508
soulless1568
dastardly1576
beastly1584
dastard1595
low-spirited1598
peaking1611
white meata1625
cur-like1627
snivelling1647
cravenly1653
base-mettled1681
niding1755
poltroonish1801
niddering1819
turn-tail1861
turpid1867
cold-footed1944
Charley1954
1425 Paston Lett. (1971) i. 19 So fals, and so pouere,—but he was nevere of my kyn.
1568 D. Lindsay Dreme in Wks. (1931) I. 18 His intoxicat dispositioun..Peruest and pure, baith fals and inuyous.
1638 W. Rawley tr. F. Bacon Hist. Nat. & Exper. Life & Death 114 A Man of a poore Minde, and not valiant.
1685 Earl of Rochester Valentinian v. ii Shall I grow then so poor as to repent?
1704 N. Wanley Hist. Man iii. 22 Perseus, being at length engag'd in the same War, was beaten, and taken Prisoner, and then discovered as Poor Mean and Servile a Spirit, as if he had been of the basest Extraction.
1796 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1846) VII. p. lxxxviii He is a poor creature and more of a Genoese than an Englishman.
1840 T. Carlyle On Heroes 176 No man who can laugh, what we call laughing, will laugh at these things. It is some poor character only desiring to laugh, and have the credit of wit, that does so.
1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 230 He seemed altogether a poor and debile being.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 12 Jan. 3/1 From the intellectual point of view, there could not be a poorer creature.
1922 H. Walpole Cathedral i. i. 19 There they were then, and the Archdeacon..could not but feel that they were rather a poor lot. Not that he exactly despised them.
1972 Times 10 July 22/1 My own prejudice..has been to see the British director as a pretty poor fish.
d. Slight, insignificant, of little consequence. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 1 The glorious Empire of the Turkes,..hath..nothing in it more wonderfull or strange, than the poore beginning of it selfe.
1721 J. Strype Eccl. Memorials III. iv. 38 Henry Earl of Surrey..for..the poor crime of assuming somewhat into his coat of arms, was actually beheaded.
1843 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last of Barons I. iii. v. 257 A future age..may rate high this poor invention.
1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality 2 Each one of those great sciences was in its dim and poor beginning.
e. Of an opinion or view: negative, unfavourable. In later use frequently in to take a poor view (of something). Cf. view n. Phrases 5c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > disapprove of [verb (transitive)]
misdeema1400
disprove1477
improve1526
disapprove?1562
dislikea1575
befie1589
misthinka1616
bar1620
to look upon with a bad eye1629
improbate1656
object1775
deplore1851
to take a poor view (of something)1863
deprecate1897
1695 W. Dawes Duties of Closet vii. 122 A constant performance of this Duty would work in us a mean and poor opinion of the things of this World.
1795 J. Bell Disc. Nature & Cure Wounds ii. iii. 68 I have a very poor opinion of the proofs which will arise from such experiments.
1821 J. F. Cooper Spy I. i. 15 This poor opinion of the Skinners was not confined to..Cæsar Thompson.
1863 Times 21 Apr. 6/5 It is but forming a mean conception of that Church, it is but taking a poor view of that influence, if we suppose that the Bill before us can possibly endanger the one or diminish the other.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge I. xiv. 169 The poor opinion..that he entertained of the slim Farfrae's physical girth, strength, and dash, was more than counter-balanced by the immense respect he had for his brains.
1940 Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Indiana) 17 Dec. 6/5 Canadian law takes a poor view of ‘Don Juans’ and ‘Gay Lotharios’.
1943 J. L. Hunt & A. G. Pringle Service Slang 52 If you do not agree with a statement or with your C.O.'s ruling..or, in fact, with the world in general, you take a poor view.
a1966 ‘M. na Gopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 41 The brother took a very poor view and said she'd be a sorry woman.
2000 Racing Post (Nexis) 3 July 53 The stewards took a poor view of Robinson using his whip in the final furlong and gave him a one-day ban..for unnecessary use.
3.
a. Small in amount; limited, scanty; less than is wanted or expected; insufficient, inadequate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount
narrowOE
poor?c1225
scarce1297
straitc1386
feeblea1513
scant1556
niggardly1564
slender1564
limited1590
scanted1594
sparing1602
scantled1604
stinted1629
exiguous1630
unlavished1635
scanty1658
unprofuse1727
costivea1734
incopious1734
niggard1751
jimp1768
skimped1839
stingy1854
restricted1856
niggard-measured1881
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 90 Hwer wes efer iȝeuen to ani blodleten swa poure pitance.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 11307 (MED) Pouer gift can sco for him giue þat com in pouert for to liue.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xv. 16 b By reason of the poore treasure of the religious..[the place] coulde not haue bin fortified.
a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 239 Schir Modred, his power wes so puir, Into the feild no langar micht induir.
1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 493 Every man and maid servant, or Orphant, having any poor stock may venture the same in their Fishing-voiages.
1706 N. Rowe Ulysses ii. i. 850 Death is too poor a Name, for that means Rest.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. xi. 277 A portion of this waste land..after having been pastured in this wretched manner for six or seven years together, may be ploughed up, when it will yield, perhaps, a poor crop or two of bad oats. View more context for this quotation
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 314 The crop of wheat would be thought poor if it did not exceed twelve millions of quarters.
1866 L. S. Thompson Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1988) 10 As they stinted us for food my mother roasted the cowhide. It was rather poor picking.
1918 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 12 July 3/3 In view of the poor quantity of seed available and the rather extensive damage from cut worms and heavy rains during May he was surprised at the fine stand of corn which he had found.
1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. xiv. 311 Elements which are required in quantity, so that a poor crop results if they are not present in substantial amounts, are called essential elements in the nutrition of plants.
1968 P. Brook Empty Space ii. 60 Merce Cunningham usually plays to poor houses, and if his admirers are scandalized by his lack of support he himself takes it in his stride.
1999 T. May Victorian & Edwardian Horse Cabs 17 On the legal fares alone the driver would have had poor pickings.
b. attributive. Of a number, amount, etc.: minimal, scant; barely sufficient; mere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective]
littleeOE
smalla1350
poor1598
pipsqueak1920
pisher1958
diddy1963
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 160 One poore peniworth of sugar-candie. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. i. 2 It was..bequeathed me by will, but poore a thousand Crownes. View more context for this quotation
1671 T. Tenison Let. 6 Apr. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1970) VII. 553 I was told by one of those who made ye Experiment, that ye Extraction of one poor ounce of salt from thence, cost them three shillings in firing.
1712 J. Arbuthnot Lewis Baboon iv. ii. 13 What Twenty Two poor Years towards the finishing a Law-suit?
1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. i. 11 All..he had wagered was poor Thirteen-pence.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy II. viii. 56 It is but poor eight miles from Shandy-Hall.
1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 62 A poor three hours' absence.
1891 G. Gissing New Grub St. III. xxvi. 40 Ten thousand pounds sounded well, but what did it represent in reality? A poor four hundred a year, perhaps; mere decency of obscure existence.
1957 B. de Zoete Dance & Magic Drama in Ceylon ii. 60 I..gave a poor ten rupees to the principal drummer for distribution. I fear this was a minimum donation.
1984 U.S. News & World Rep. (Nexis) 2 Apr. 35 The gross national product..rose 8.8 percent last year. In the previous three years, economic growth averaged only a poor 3 percent.
4.
a. With in or (now archaic) of. Having a want or deficiency of some (specified or implied) possession or quality; lacking, ill-supplied.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > [adjective] > devoid of something > lacking or without > poorly supplied or equipped
barec1220
poora1250
leana1340
nakedc1380
indigent1426
wanting1592
slender1722
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 79 Þu ert blind iheorted, & ne isihst nout hwu ðu ert poure & naked of holinesse.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 31 Drynes..makeþ þe body voyde & lere & pore of fedinge.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 301 Pore of possessioun in purse and in coffre.
a1450 (a1401) Chastising of God's Children (Bodl.) (1957) 112 (MED) If it please þe þat I be þus poore of al maner comfort, þanne wol I desire þis pouert.
a1500 (c1400) Vision of Tundale (Adv.) (1843) l. 22 He was ryche ynow of ryches But he was poore of all gudnesse.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 717 So long as God is not poore of mercie, so long cannot I be poore of merite.
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. II. 30 They that are poore in reputation ought to presse up to the trenches.
1697 C. Cibber Womans Wit v. 72 When Lovers are so poor in Merit, Madam, Beauty shou'd pass an Act of Grace, and take the Moiety, that Nature lends us.
1735 H. Jacob Fatal Constancy iv. iv, in Wks. 254 I blush..when I reflect How poor in Gratitude, how slow I've been In my Returns of Love to Cleon's Offspring!
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. xi. 239 They are rich in the industry and..in shipping, and in all the other instruments and means of carriage and commerce: but they are poor in corn. View more context for this quotation
1863 E. V. Neale Analogy Thought & Nature 157 Stratified masses, rich in organic remains, though poor in mineral substances.
1885 R. C. Trench Poems II. 214 We are not poor in hope, we do not mourn The wreck of all our bliss around us strewed.
1885 Cent. Mag. May 59/1 It required an effort at first to imagine an artist so untaught, so mistaught, so poor in experience.
1932 L. E. H. Whitby Nurses' Handbk. Hygiene (ed. 4) vi. 119 Grape juice is poor in Vitamin C and should not be given to infants.
1991 New Scientist 25 May 36/2 Being naturally poor in nutrients, the rendzina soils that support these swards are especially prone to enrichment.
b. As the second element in compounds, with the sense ‘having a want or deficiency of (what is denoted by the first element)’.
ΚΠ
1907 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 79 133 Mixed crystals of the nickel-poor type, at the transition temperature, are in equilibrium with a solid solution richer in nickel than the crystals themselves.
1950 W. H. Pearsall Mountains & Moorlands ix. 179 The moor-grass may be found growing on oxygen-poor peats with a moderately high salt content and low acidity.
2001 M. Blake 24 Karat Schmooze xviii. 201 He found that a deposit of a third of the asking price in notes was acceptable to the cash-poor housing conglomerate.
5. attributive. That provokes sympathy, or compassion; that is to be pitied; unfortunate, wretched, hapless.Often used (in later use frequently ironically) with little, esp. in certain fixed phrases (see Compounds 1d). poor little me: see Compounds 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective]
poorc1300
afflicta1393
mistada1400
aggrudged1440
afflicted1534
tribulate1575
distressed1586
rid1610
over-grieved1618
ridden1640
tribulated1682
hag-rid1691
crosseda1732
bad off1735
badly off1740
unfortunate1785
the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [adjective]
armlyeOE
unseelyOE
rulyOE
ruefulc1225
ruthfulc1225
sorryc1225
piteousc1300
poorc1300
ruthlyc1300
pietousa1393
pitifulc1450
lamentablec1460
miserable?a1475
pitiablec1475
execrable1490
plainful1555
tristsum1567
passionatea1586
touchinga1586
pathetic1591
melting1593
remorseful?1615
compassionate1630
compassionable1635
ruesome1833
po'1866
little-boy-lost1957
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [adjective] > of inferior quality or value or appearance
poorc1300
vile1526
mangya1529
fine1565
palterlya1637
scrubby1754
nice1798
shabby1805
waff-like1808
neat1824
chronic1861
tacky1862
shamblya1937
tatty1940
low-rent1966
scrungy1974
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 7695 To ȝam [= þam] saide þo þer þe pore king Vortiger.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6738 (MED) Al pouere, louerd, ich am.
c1395 G. Chaucer Friar's Tale 1609 Kythe youre almesse on me, poure wrecche.
c1450 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 212 The Epystel in prose ffrom the party of the por plentyff in love.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. iv Thus was the poure sheep vaynquysshed.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. xiii Goyng her waie, leauyng the poore innocent chylde wepyng as faste as the mother.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 44 If Osorius would leaue of..his ouer rancke rayling against poore Luther.
1574 J. Higgins 1st Pt. Mirour for Magistrates Elstride f. 26 Which when I sawe the kindnes of the childe, It burst my harte..: Poore little lambe with countinance how milde She pleaded still.
a1600 I. T. Grim the Collier iii He, poor Heart, no sooner heard my newes, But turns me up his Whites, and falls flat down.
1648 S. Danforth Almanack 9 Alas poor smoaky Times, that can't yet see, Where Truth doth grow, on this or on that Tree.
1691 J. Wilson Belphegor v. iii Poor comfortless Woman; she's fall'n asleep at last.
1715 C. Bullock Woman's Revenge iii. 58 O my poor Dear Husband, I can't bear the Loss of you,—I shall, I shall break my Heart.
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague III. cliv. 138 Pray let Emily be married; every body marries but poor little Emily.
1787 F. Burney Diary 26 Feb. (1842) III. 334 Till his [sc. Boswell's] book of poor Dr. Johnson's life is finished and published.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxiv. 161 This poor little Marchioness has been wearing herself to death!
1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 330 He looked dreadfully weak still, poor fellow!
1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh III. 82 The poor thing had fallen asleep also.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) People who are dead are always spoken of as poor so-and-so... ‘You mind the poor old Farmer Follett, that's th' old Farmer George's father you know.’
1919 M. Gyte Diary 25 Jan. (1999) 207 Poor Cyril Mellor (Over Haddon) was buried. He died either Wednesday or Thursday of Diabetes, aged 21.
1938 W. H. Auden & C. Isherwood On Frontier i. ii. 49 Oh, my poor head! If you two are going to quarrel, I'm off to bed.
1999 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 23 Aug. 12 This..is not just down to the fact that the poor individual is teetotal (although we do feel terribly sorry for them if they are..).
2005 New Yorker 28 Feb. 96/1 It was asking too much of the poor woman that she pretend to be somebody else at the same time.
6. Of soil, ore, land, etc.: yielding little, unproductive. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > productiveness > unproductiveness > [adjective]
unbearingc825
deafc897
westyOE
wastumlessc975
wilderna1050
drya1340
gelda1350
barren1377
unfructuousa1382
poora1387
ungreenc1400
infecundc1420
farrow1494
fruitlessa1513
unfruitful1531
sterile1552
hungry1577
penurious1594
unfertile1596
infertile1598
howling1611
ungenitureda1616
arid1656
infecundous1661
ungendering1706
yeld1721
unproductive1725
infructuose1727
ungenerative1733
fallow1791
nihili-parturient1812
dowf1824
wastec1825
non-productive1830
unreproductive1836
infructuous1860
unvintaged1869
increative1877
ablastemic1881
submarginal1895
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > infertile
unbearingc825
geasonOE
unkindc1330
barren1377
unfructuousa1382
poora1387
leanc1420
exile?1440
salt1535
unfruitful?1542
sterile1572
dead1577
unlusty1580
queasy1593
heartless1594
unfertile1596
emacerated1610
sapless1655
unprolific1672
uncivil1676
ungrateful1681
worn1681
teemless1687
unproductive1725
poorish1767
ill-conditioned1796
scanty1797
rammelly1808
starve-acre1891
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > [adjective] > bald
barrena1387
baldc1390
meagre1539
barec1540
starved1604
poor1842
poverty-stricken1865
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 365 (MED) Þey schulde leve þe pore [L. paupercula] feeldes of Pannonia and wende into þe noble riche lond of Italy.
c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 196 (MED) Mercye is a seed þat bereþ raþer fruyȝt in pore and leene erþe þan it doþ in fatt erþe.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. E v Onely poore England giues him bread for his cake.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. v. 218 They cal that [ore] poore which yields least silver.
1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxfordshire 153 Dill or Lentills, in poor stone-brash land, which are a good podware for cattle.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1752) 280 The cow-quake grass, or gramen tremulum..is no indication of poor land.
1762 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. iv. iv. 416 The poor clays require such manures as contain the greatest plenty of the vegetable food.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iv. 167 Poor and hungry soils.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Let. 25 Apr. (1977) IV. 30 The English language is not so poor but [etc.].
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 385 The poor slag contains about 7 ounces of silver and a trace of gold. It is too poor to treat, and is thrown away.
1955 B. C. L. Kemp Elem. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xi. 166 These reactions are utilized in the extraction of gold from poor ores and ‘tailings’.
1996 Independent 6 Sept. 7/3 Wistman's Wood on Dartmoor is made up of dwarf pedunculate oaks, stunted and gnarled by growing on boulders and poor, peaty soil at 1,300 feet.
7.
a. In ill health, unwell; = poorly adj. Now rare (U.S. regional in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased
untrumc825
sickc888
unwholec888
slackc897
unstronga900
sicklea1000
sam-halea1023
worseOE
attaint1303
languishinga1325
heallessc1374
sicklyc1374
sicklewa1387
bada1393
mishalea1400
languoring?c1425
distempered1440
unwell?c1450
detent?a1475
poora1475
languorousc1475
maladif1481
illa1500
maladiousc1500
wanthriven1508
attainted1509
unsound1513
acrazed1521
cracked1527
unsoundya1529
visited1537
infirmed1552
crazed1555
healthless1568
ill-liking1572
afflicted1574
crazy1576
unhealthful1580
sickish1581
valetudinary1581
not well1587
fainty1590
ill-disposed1596
unhealthsome1598
tainted1600
ill-affected1604
peaking1611
unhealthy1611
infirmited1616
disaffected1626
physical1633
illish1637
pimping1640
invalid1642
misaffected1645
valetudinarious1648
unhale1653
badly1654
unwholesome1655
valetudinous1655
morbulent1656
off the hooksa1658
mawkish1668
morbid1668
unthriven1680
unsane1690
ailing1716
not wellish1737
underlya1742
poorly1750
indifferent1753
comical1755
maladized1790
sober1808
sickened1815
broken-down1816
peaky1821
poorlyish1827
souffrante1827
run-down1831
sicklied1835
addle1844
shaky1844
mean1845
dauncy1846
stricken1846
peakyish1853
po'ly1860
pindling1861
rough1882
rocky1883
suffering1885
wabbit1895
icky-boo1920
like death warmed up1924
icky1938
ropy1945
crappy1956
hanging1971
sick as a parrot1982
shite1987
a1475 Dis. Hawk (Harl. 2340) f. 29, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Povre & þi hawke be pore, þe orpyment wyll slee hir, And yf sche be ouyr gon with vermyn, sche wyll be por.
a1586 King Hart l. 892 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 282 Becaus he saw the king wourd waik & pure.
1758 L. Lyon in Milit. Jrnls. (1855) 15 Corperal Carpenter was taken poor.
1758 S. Thompson Diary (1896) 12 Our men are very poor, and we scarce could get men for work or for guard.
1950 Wisconsin Eng. Lang. Survey Suppl. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 270/1 His cows was so poor they could hardly stand up.
1995 Signal Mag. Dec. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 271/1 Poor, ill. ‘Grandpa is poor’.
b. Esp. of animals: thin or feeble from inadequate feeding; lean, scrawny. Now chiefly Australian and U.S. regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > [adjective] > thin or weak
poor1539
unwight1570
sheer1632
scammel1658
rangy1857
wastrel1880
the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > weak > weak with ill-nourishment
poor1539
slink1673
nazzardly1675
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [adjective] > other disorders
gall-bitten1482
poor1539
melanistic1873
melanotic1874
lesioned1881
melanic1882
erythristic1910
osteofibrotic1938
1539 Bible (Great) Gen. xli. 19 Seuen other kyne..poore [1535 Coverdale thynne] and very euell fauored and leane fleshed.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxi. xl. 415 Their horses, no other than lame jades and poore hidebound hildings.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 Before his Training, keep him poor and low. View more context for this quotation
1727 J. Swift Progr. Poetry in Misc. Last vol. 243 Cackling shews the Goose is poor.
1778 Maryland Jrnl. 10 Feb. 4/2 [The sheep] are very poor, and appear to have been out all winter.
1818 G. Flagg Let. 12 Sept. in Flagg. Corr. (1986) 18 Most of the people cut no hay for their Cattle & horses but this a foolish way of theirs they either have to feed out their Corn or their Cattle get very poor.
1823 in A. Mathews Mem. C. Mathews (1839) III. 389 I said, ‘You're a pleasant man; how's your wife?’—Landlord. ‘Why, she's tolerable well, but pretty poor (very thin).’
1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xvii. 276 They get poor as snakes on such food; but it does keep body and soul together for awhile.
1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) II. 414 He could n't eät, an' was as poor as a craw, soä missis hed him shutten.
1924 Port Arthur (Texas) News 1 July 5/7 I had lost weight until I was just about as poor as a snake and so weak all I could do was to lay around the house.
1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo vi. 66 They were bringing cattle down... Poor as sticks, they were.
1985 A. Wilkinson Moonshine 84 The horse..was so poor he'd have to go twice through a place to make a shadow.
2001 Herbert River Express (Austral.) (Nexis) 6 Jan. 5 Once cattle got poor they were very hard to save prior to the use of supplementation.
B. n.1
1. With plural agreement. Chiefly with the. Poor people (literal and figurative) as a class; esp. needy or destitute people. Frequently with distinguishing word, as the aged (also good, respectable, urban, etc.) poor. Cf. overseer of (also †for) the poor at overseer n. 1c.the deserving poor: see deserving adj. a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor people or the poor
waedlec888
needfula1200
needya1225
poorc1225
God's poorc1230
porailc1325
porailsa1425
povertya1450
poorality1536
God's poverty1563
miserable1582
necessitous1622
necessitated1638
ptochocracy1831
fallen1878
worse off1890
po'1945
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 99 (MED) Hwen þus is of riche, hwet wenest tu of þe poure?
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 482 (MED) Þane riche & poure, more & lasse, Singeþ cundut niȝt & dai.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 101 (MED) Ne on his bord non so god shrede Þat he ne wolde þorwit fede Poure þat on fote yede.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 185 (MED) Her ioie is as of hym þat deuoreþ þe pouer in hidels.
c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale I. 373 He herkneth nat benygnly the compleynte of the pouere.
a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch.) 17 Zachee..of al þat he hadde half ȝaue to pore.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 62 (MED) The riche ought to supporte the pour.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark xiv. f. lxvj It myght have bene soolde for more then two houndred pens, and bene geven vnto the povre.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xlvijv Colledges and such other places were fyrst founded for the pore.
a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Fffff4v/1 What Poor attend my charity to day, wench?
c1658 in F. J. Furnivall Harrison's Descr. Eng. (1908) iv. 207 Cures Colledge..with maintenance for 16..aged poore of the parish.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1690) 80 The poor of France have generally less Wages than in England.
1702 (title) The necessity and usefulness of the Dispensaries lately set up by the College of Physicians in London, for the use of the sick poor.
1750 Aberdeen Jrnl. 22 May 4/3 The Revd...sells..those [found and unearthed old coins] struck at Aberdeen for 10 Shillings, for the Benefit of the Poor, whatever is found within the Church-yard being their Property.
1769 G. G. Beekman Let. 20 Jan. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 520 The plaid Hose and Galloway Pladen are not used here by Our Poor Nor Negroes.
a1797 E. Burke Thoughts on Scarcity (1800) 3 Nothing can be so base and so wicked as the political canting language, ‘The Labouring Poor’.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House vi. 48 It is said that the children of the very poor are not brought up, but dragged up.
1891 E. Kinglake Austral. at Home 107 The ranks of larrikins do not go unrecruited from among the sons of the more respectable poor.
1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara Pref. in John Bull's Other Island 154 ‘The respectable poor’, and such phrases are as intolerable and as immoral as ‘drunken but amiable’ [etc.].
1957 J. Osborne Look Back in Anger i. i. 13 He's upset because someone has suggested that he supports the rich against the poor.
1966 B. Brophy Don't never Forget 17 Do you remember..how the poor didn't mind their slums because they had never known anything else?
1988 Herald (Austral.) (Nexis) 21 June You have to take care of the emotionally poor before you can protect the blessed rich.
2003 New Internationalist Jan.–Feb. 30/1 The urban poor in Rosario, Argentina's third-largest city, are employing the Californian red worm to munch the city's organic waste.
2. A poor person; (in Scottish use frequently) spec. a person in need of charity or public assistance (see also sense B. 3b).
a. In singular. Now rare (Scottish in later use).In quot. c1400: a humble servant (cf. sense A. 2b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person
poorc1225
poor man?c1225
beggar1340
goodlessa1350
poreleta1382
miserable1484
poor one1562
bankrupt?1563
indigent1563
poorling1581
poor snake1590
needling1608
desperviewa1640
have-nota1739
angishore1835
little worth1885
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 585 (MED) Þah he beo richest..ouer alle, þe alre measte poure þe him to were cheoseð is him wel icweme.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 195 (MED) Me vint of ane kinge to huam a poure acsede ane peny.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 615 (MED) Passe never fro þi povere, ȝif I hit pray durst.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 5601 The povre..recchith nought Save of his lyflode in his thought.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iii I byleue not that this poure may be maculed ne gylty of the blame.
a1560 W. Kennedy Passion of Christ 480 Thoucht now I stand dispitit as a pure.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 40 Thair was alswa a pure hecht Lazarus.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 303 Ane pure with ȝow sum erand wald.
1625 T. Jackson Treat. Originall of Vnbeliefe v. xvi. §6 He had given somewhat to every poore in the Parish.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 375 And, having truck'd thy soul, brought home the fee, To tempt the poor to sell himself to thee?
1857 J. S. Blackie Lays & Legends Anc. Greece 240 The friendless poor is banished far, From your green glens for ever!
1899 Shetland News 13 May 7/2 Lat alaene a creepin puir o' a twayer'ld.
b. In plural. Chiefly Scottish in later use.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 190 (MED) He ne hedde bote þri pans, uor say[n]t germayn hit hedde al yeue to pouren.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 127 (MED) Þe mayster hym biþoȝt Þat he wolde..rehayte rekenly þe riche and þe poveren.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) ci. 135 Who that receyueth the prophetes, the predycatours, and the poures, he receyueth myn oune self.
1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B4 Quhilk nother techis, ryche nor puris.
1590 Edinb. Test. XXII. f. 56, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Pur(e To the puiris of the hospitall..x lib.
1692 Cramond Kirk Session III. 1 Dec. And that money of the poores in his hand.
1725 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1909) 238 To the loss, dammage and skaith of the saids trades and their respective poors.
1821 J. Galt Ayrshire Legatees iv. 84 The Cornal..was an officer of the native poors of India, where the pay must indeed have been extraordinar.
1898 Shetland News 29 Jan. 7/5 Dey wir nedder füles nor püirs.
1999 J. J. Graham Shetl. Dict. (ed. 2) 66/1 I tink ill aboot yon twa poors bidin demsels.
2000 A. Desai (title) The poors of Chatsworth: race, class and social movements in post-apartheid South Africa.
3. In the genitive form poor's (in singular or plural sense) or poors'.
a. gen. Now archaic and rare.
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 19766 To sewe þe pores [a1400 Vesp. þe pouer þair] cloþing.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 4893 Þat your hye dygnite..No desdein [haue] of þe pores sentence.
a1656 J. Hales Serm. at Eton (1673) i. 16 It is the poors money, and the talent of thy Lord which thou hidest under the ground.
1661 T. Gouge Christian Direct. xxviii. 150 A sin that crieth unto God for vengeance, who is the Poors avenger.
1771 R. Colvill Occas. Poems 11 The poor's unbless'd retreat, Where Death and Famine sternly wait.
1846 E. Raux Road to Fortune i. ii. 6 That is the poor's only consolation, and happy they may be when they have it.
1901 J. M. Bell Poet. Wks. 210 That voice..Somewhere, in God's great providence, Is trilling in the poor's defense.
b. In relation to the provision of poor relief, esp. in Scotland. Now historical (chiefly Scottish).Chiefly in more or less fixed compounds: see Compounds 2b, and also poor box n., Poor Law n., poor rate n., etc.
ΚΠ
1572 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 363 To the collectour of the puiris almes.
1608 Stirling Kirk Session Reg. in Maitland Misc. (1833) I. 136 The puiris box to be keipit be James Duncansone.
a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Gypsies 74* in tr. Horace Art of Poetry (1640) On Sundayes you rob the poores box with your Tabor.
1783 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. at Puir Payment of 1s. weekly out of the poors funds of the parish.
1844 A. Page Suppl. Kirby's Suffolk Trav. 799 The poor's estate comprises a cottage..and 13 A. 3 R. 7 P. of land.
1897 R. M. Fergusson Village Poet 48 The Puirs' Inspector couldna get the hearse the day o' her bur'al; but he trysted baker Simpson's bread van an' hurl'd her to the kirkyaird like a braxy sheep.
1913 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Criminal Law & Criminol. 3 738 The Writers to the Signet and the Solicitors of the Supreme Court each appoint four poors' agents.
1931 Encycl. Laws Scotl. XI. 506 The Act of Sederunt, 1877, which requires that poor's agents shall assist in the defence of persons criminally charged before the Sheriff.
Compounds
C1. Compounds of the adjective.
a. Parasynthetic, instrumental, and predicative.† poor-charactered adj. Obsolete
poor-blooded adj.
ΚΠ
1861 Times 25 July 9/1 They were one and all starving, and the majority were skeletons from atrophy..ill-nourished and poor-blooded.
1889 W. F. Rae Austrian Health Resorts 71 Poor-blooded patients may indulge in a little old red wine.
1921 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Tribune 20 Apr. 2/2 (advt.) Get from your druggist S.S.S., the famous vegetable blood tonic and alterative. It is just the thing for poor blooded people.
poor-born adj.
ΚΠ
a1400 tr. R. Rolle Oleum Effusum (Harl.) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1895) I. 190 (MED) I fande Ihesu pore-borne [v.r. pure-borne] in þo worlde.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 4368 (MED) Of Adam and Eue alle come we, And alle pouere borne we be.
1708 C. Brent Honour Lord with thy Substance 8 The Christian Education of Orphans, and Poor born Children.
1992 Black Enterprise (Nexis) Nov. (Book Review section) 14 This poor-born illiterate became a prosperous businessman.
ΚΠ
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 80 He might produce..a poor Charactered man, to do something for them.
poor-clad adj.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) i. sig. H2 To heare The poore-clad truth of loues wrong-ordred lot.
1847 Star & Republican Banner (Gettysburg, Pa.) 14 May Chatter, chatter, still went the teeth, and shiver, shiver, shiver, every nerve in her poor clad frame.
1915 J. London Jacket (1969) xv. 183 In him, this poor-clad, lean-bellied priest, I sensed the power behind power in all the palace.
poor-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1648 J. Beaumont Psyche vii. 105/1 The Men were Ice; so were their Doors; for both Were frozen up against poor looking Guests.
1847 E. Smith Jrnl. 13 Jan. (1980) 116 Poor looking house with three rooms.
1993 Grain Spring 60 I wouldn't have wanted to think of myself as an old, poor-looking (that's what we used to call unattractive people—poor-looking), unloved woman.
poor-minded adj.
ΚΠ
1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger Virgin Martir ii. sig. D3 To..giue your poore minded rascally seruants the lye.
1887 Times 10 Jan. 8/3 The Governor has been repeatedly upheld for teaching some hundreds of poor-minded officials..that the islands were not for their convenience, but the reverse.
2002 Statesman Jrnl. (Salem, Oregon) (Nexis) 28 Jan. 5 c This is a very poor-minded yet typical move on the part of the governor.
poor-sighted adj.
ΚΠ
1898 J. D. Rees in 19th Cent. June 1023 These beasts [sc. elephants] are very poor sighted, though their noses are extremely good.
1927 Times 12 July 10/5 The cost of providing ideal visual conditions in schools would not be greater than the present loss to production occasioned by the entry into industrial occupations of so many poor-sighted youths and young women.
2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 17 Dec. 46 If football recreated Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol then surely referee Matt Messias would be Scrooge—and a pretty poor-sighted one at that.
poor-witted adj.
ΚΠ
a1658 B. Rudyerd Prince d'amour (1660) 89 Milorsius Stradilax..puft up with a poor-witted ambition, would needs be called Erophilus.
1856 Times 26 June 6/4 How was it that that priesthood got hold of a poor-witted Emperor of Austria, and made him in sickness vow that he would restore to it all the power which his wiser father had withheld?
1939 R. Sabatini Sword of Islam xxvi. 296 ‘Are we flamingoes?’ ‘Almost as poor-witted.’
b. With nouns, forming compounds used attributively, as poor-grade, poor-quality, etc., adjs.
ΚΠ
1881 Globe (Atchison, Kansas) 17 Mar. The stuff advertised as ‘pure maple sugar’ is four-fifths poor grade brown sugar.
1883 Science 8 June 520/1 The cost is estimated at two francs per 100 kilos of poor-quality iron.
1948 C. L. B. Hubbard Dogs in Brit. 234 The English Setter appears to be in danger of deteriorating into a very pretty but poor-quality worker.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 9 Feb. 57/3 When I was a boy we used to chaff poor-quality hay and mix it with molasses.
1997 Housing Agenda Sept. (Finance Suppl.) 8/3 Mixed-funded refurbishment of ‘poor value’ estates through small-scale transfers could focus investment on worst quality stock.
c.
poor-ass adj. U.S. slang of very poor quality, etc., extremely poor (in quot. 19511 apparently used adverbially as a general intensifier).
ΚΠ
1951 J. Kerouac On the Road: Orig. Scroll (2007) 216 Find out just what he's poorass pondering about this year's turnip greens.
1951 J. Kerouac On the Road: Orig. Scroll (2007) 285 My thumb got infected and a poorass doctor made a bad job of fixing it and finally I had a touch of gangrene in it and they had to amputate a cunthair tip off the end.
1970 R. D. Abrahams Positively Black iii. 72 Colored man went to the store and bought him one of them poor-ass damned roosters.
2000 Ventura County (Calif.) Star (Nexis) 17 Oct. a1 They're poor, but not the majority. So we get castigated as that poor-ass agricultural city, and we're not.
poor child n. now historical and rare a pupil at a charity school (see child n. 4a; in quots. used chiefly with reference to Queen's College, Oxford).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > charity school pupil
childOE
blue coat boy1609
blue coat1619
poor child1626
blue boy1649
blue coat girl1695
blue1803
1626 T. Crosfield Diary 17 June (1935) 4 The same day there were elected..3 Fellowes..4 Masters..6 Tabitors 6 poore children 1 Servitour.
1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 216 [They] were all poor Children, Taberders and afterwards Fellows of Queen's College.
1891 H. Morley Spectator I. Introd. p. iv Lancelot [Addison] got his education as a poor child in the Appleby Grammar School.
2005 Oxf. Dict. National Biogr. (Electronic ed.) at Hudson, Michael He went up to Queen's College, Oxford, as ‘a poor child’.
poor do n. U.S. a dish made up of scraps of food; a hash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > dish of many ingredients > [noun]
rapé1381
jussel?c1390
hodgepotc1430
composta1475
olla1535
olla podrida1590
gallimaufry1591
pot-pourri1611
hodge-podge1622
olio1642
potrido1651
salmagundi1674
oil1706
Solomon-gundy1752
chow-chow1795
powsowdie1816
make-up1841
poor do1870
scramble1893
mulligan1898
pot mess1914
chow1926
katogo1940
panaché1961
1870 J. C. Duval Advent. Big-foot Wallace 308 Our money gave out entirely, and we were compelled to live on watermelons, with now and then a dish of ‘poor doe’, which..isn't much stronger diet than the watermelons.
1909 Pioneer Days in Southwest 1850–79 253 When we had hogmeat we would fry a few pieces, take the grease and crumble corn bread in it, putting in water and salt, and we had a pot of soup called ‘poor doo’.
2003 W. W. Weaver Country Scrapple 63 Liver mush with rice is a common Coastal Carolina dish, and scrabblin' mush connects us with a Low Country version of Appalachian poor-do.
Poor Knights n. (also with lower-case initials) originally British (more fully Poor Knights of Windsor) a type of dessert, typically made using stale bread and milk, and sweetened with sugar, jam, etc.; = pain perdu n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > bread dish > [noun] > sops
brewisc1440
pain perdua1450
bread and milk1549
sugar-sops1581
Poor Knights1659
breadberry1715
milk toast1840
sop1845
kettle-broth1880
slinger1882
1659 Compleat Cook 119 To make poor Knights, cut two penny loaves in round slices, dip them in half a pint of Cream, or faire water, then lay them abroad in a dish, and beat three Eggs and grated Nutmegs and Sugar, beat them with the Cream, then melt some Butter in a Frying-pan, and wet the sides of the Toast and lay them on on the wet side, then poure in the rest upon them, and so fry them, serve them in with Rosewater, Sugar and Butter.
1723 J. Nott Cook's & Confectioner's Dict. sig. Cc4 To make poor knights. Cut..Loaves into round Slices,..dip them in..Cream..beat up..Eggs..melt Butter..wet sides of the Toasts,..fry them.
1883 Sat. Evening Post 9 June 16/3 One of the most satisfactory ways I know of using pieces of bread is to convert them into poor knights.
1959 Newark (Ohio) Advocate & Amer. Tribune 5 Feb. 20/4 Poor Knights of Windsor is a quaint old British custom... Serve hot..dusted with cinnamon and sugar.
1964 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 29 Oct. 12/3 For a very quick and very pleasant sweet, I suggest Poor Knights. For four servings you will need four slices of bread a couple of days old.
2003 T. Norrington-Davies Just like Mother used to Make (2004) xii. 182 Stale bread desserts..can be rich, sweet and stodgy like Poor Knights of Windsor.
poor little guy n. U.S. colloquial the ordinary individual, the ‘man in the street’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [noun] > mediocre person
mediocrity1694
mediocrist1779
mediocritist1797
plug1848
little guy1939
poor little guy1955
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash III. xiii. 270 I wouldn't speak to you in the street for fear of disgracing you; I am such a poor little guy to be addressing a gentleman like you.]
1955 Bridgeport (Connecticut) Sunday Post 14 Aug. a16/7 By loading down the audit forces with detail work and the package audit, less audits will be made, and then mostly to the poor little guy.
1967 Boston Sunday Herald 26 Mar. 1. 9/7 Only the poor little guy is subject to the zoning code.
1988 W. R. Garrett in A. Shupe & J. K. Hadden Politics Relig. & Social Change II. vii. 137 The angel didn't go where the king was but where the poor people were, which means that this message is not for the big shots but for the poor little guys, which means the oppressed.
poor little me n. (also †poor little I) used to convey the speaker's mock-depreciation of (and the supposed vulnerability of) himself or herself.
ΚΠ
1628 R. Hayman Quodlibets ii. 23 Poore little I that from earth haue my birth, Am but a clod, compared to the Earth.
1664 T. Killigrew 1st Pt. Bellamira ii. ii, in Comedies & Trag. 489 She ne're thinks of poor little me but to grieve my heart.
1781 N. Mundy Let. 21 Oct. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate Cheverels (1898) iii. 48 How very Ill poor Little I am used kick'd quite out & not allowed room.
1818 M. Edgeworth Let. 15 Oct. (1971) 126 Could I four years ago have believed if it had been prophecied to me that I poor little i should this day have been driving about London with Honora alone?
1895 A. W. Pinero Second Mrs. Tanqueray iii. 111 I really thought you'd forgotten poor little me.
1913 A. Bennett Regent i. iii. 68 ‘What about poor little me?’ cried the driver, who was evidently a ribald socialist.
1993 F. Collymore Miss Edison 33 And the boy was in love with Blanche too. I knew. I could see. Even poor little me who'd had no experience in matters of this sort, I could see.
poor preachers n. Church History = poor priests n.
ΚΠ
1857 C. Knight Pop. Hist. England II. i. 9 This victory over the ‘poor preachers’ was very short-lived.
1930 T. C. Hall Relig. Background Amer. Culture ii. 19 He set to work to..train ‘Poor Preachers’ for a work that is still being carried on over the prairies of a land Wyclif did not know existed.
1995 Eng. Hist. Rev. 110 1180 Purvey has thus been of enduring interest to historians as a link between Wyclif and the itinerant poor preachers who popularized the teachings of the master.
poor priests n. Christian Church (now historical) (in plural) an order of itinerant preaching clergy founded by Wyclif.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > monasticism > religious order > other religions > Poor Priests (Wyclif) > [noun]
poor priests?c1430
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 245 (title) Whi pore prestis han none benefice.
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 248 Ȝit þouȝ pore prestis myȝtten frely geten presentacion of lordis to haue benefices wiþ cure of soulis.
1836 A. T. Malkin Gallery of Portraits IV. 120 He [sc. Wyclif] sent forth numerous missionaries, whom he called his ‘Poor Priests’, for the express purpose of propagating his doctrines.
1880 F. D. Matthew Eng. Wks. Wyclif p. xvi Wyclif's aim in instituting the poor priests was to supply the defects of the existing parsons.
1990 Amer. Hist. Rev. 95 802/2 She insists Wyclif concerned himself with the activities of the Poor Priests.
poor relation n. a relative with little money or wealth; (figurative) a person or thing that is considered inferior or subordinate to others of the same type or group.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > poor relation
poor relation1673
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > [noun] > poor relative
poor relation1673
1673 T. Gouge Surest & Safest Way of Thriving 53 It will be your wisdom to expresse your thankfulness to God by being kind to his poor relations.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 338 Seeing..he had some poor Relations in England..he would write to know..what Condition they were in.
1753 C. Clive Rehearsal i. 15 What is a Burletto?..I believe it's a kind of poor Relation to an Opera.
1862 Times 22 Apr. 6/3 Their excellent vicar, who, in narrating the history of their national school, described it as having been a sort of poor relation of their free endowed school.
1906 J. M. Synge Lett. to Molly (1971) 13 I dont like hanging about their house as a poor relation.
1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 26 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 The suggestion or fear that sound radio was becoming the ‘poor relation’ of broadcasting.
2003 Ireland on Sunday 20 July 18/1 It has always been the poor relation of hurling and football but camogie has now unleashed a new weapon to attract a mass following—old-fashioned sex appeal.
Poor Richard n. the supposed author of a series of almanacs published by Benjamin Franklin between 1732 and 1757 in which advice was dispensed in the form of maxims; frequently in as Poor Richard says.Franklin's maxims were popularized after a number of them were collected in a preface to the almanac for 1758, where each was followed by the phrase as Poor Richard says (see quot. 1757); this preface was later reprinted as Father Abraham's Speech and The Way to Wealth.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > writer or author > [noun] > writers of other types of material
metaphrast1610
lasher1611
pastoralist1619
amorist1642
travel writer1711
party writer1715
Poor Richard1757
murdermonger1785
manners-painter1807
institutionalist1817
paroemiographer1823
nautical1831
nonsense-writera1835
recaster1841
serialist1845
snobographer1848
librettist1862
palindromist1872
fragmentist1874
text-man1900
scriptwriter1911
paradoxographer1917
absurdist1929
blogger1999
weblogger1999
1732 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack 1733 (February) N. N. of B—s County, pray don't be angry with poor Richard.]
1757 B. Franklin Poor Richard Improved Pref. Father Abraham stood up, and reply'd, If you'd have my Advice, I'll give it you in short, for a Word to the Wise is enough, and many Words won't fill a Bushel, as Poor Richard says.
1779 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Prophesy 4 I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated, with, as poor Richard says, at the end on't.
?1800 Brit. Jester 132 Remember what poor Richard says,..‘At a great pennyworth’... He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real.
1855 H. Melville Israel Potter ix. 59 Ah, what's this Poor Richard says: ‘God helps them that help themselves.’ Let's consider that. Poor Richard ain't a Dunker, that's certain.
1907 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 13 383 [The American] is fond of the axioms of Poor Richard, and discovers their truth anew in his own experience.
1975 Publishers Weekly 28 July 116/1 They tell their readers to ‘deep six’ Poor Richard and put his advice into reverse.
2005 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 30 Sept. a13 We'll become more vigilant because, as Poor Richard says, ‘Creditors have better memories than debtors.’
d. Used with little rich (esp. in poor little rich boy, poor little rich girl) in compounds denoting people who are unhappy or discontented despite their wealth.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > wealth > [noun] > rich or wealthy person > rich and unhappy person
poor little rich boy1897
1897 Daily Herald (Delpho, Ohio) 6 Dec. 3/1 Eliza and her husband died within four months of each other, and the poor little rich boy was left to his aunt.
1913 E. Gates (title of play) The poor little rich girl.
1934 ‘G. Orwell’ Burmese Days v. 91 Unmanly whinings; poor-little-rich-girl stuff.
1952 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 21 Dec. 3/2 A poor little rich boy who lived up the street in a fine apartment building came to our house on Christmas morning.
1977 Daily Tel. 4 Mar. 3/5 A Conservative M.P.'s daughter on a heroin charge was ‘really just a poor little rich girl..who has had an unhappy life’ a magistrate said yesterday.
2001 Times 19 Nov. ii. 4/2 Macaulay Culkin's poor little rich kid has zillions, a butler, no friends.
e. With prefixed noun, forming adjectives with the sense ‘poor or deficient in ——’.For more established compounds see the first element.
ΚΠ
1916 P. Grainger Let. 28 Aug. in All-round Man (1994) 32 Instruments that encourage artistic pleasure in performances rather than yearly labors of preparation for finally joy-poor performances.
1963 Look 8 Oct. 68/2 Then there is the other Texas: income-poor, opportunity-poor, equality-poor for most of the state's 1.5 million slow-burning Mexicanos.
2005 Scotsman (Nexis) 14 Sept. 38 We need to..concentrate on the short-break market. The real growth market now is in cash-rich, time-poor travellers.
C2. Compounds of the noun.
a.
(a) General attributive, chiefly with reference to the provision of relief or assistance to the poor.
poor-hour n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > [noun] > time for treatment of poor
poor-hour1897
1897 H. Drummond Ideal Life 68 The soul-sick had to take their turn like the out-patients at the poor-hour outside the infirmary.
poor relief n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief
relieving1389
relief1438
poor relief1698
legal charity1818
poor-work1854
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > types of help > [noun] > aid in want, pain, sickness, etc. > material aid > specific
poor relief1698
out-relief1843
1698 MSS House of Lords 9 Dec. (1905) III. 261 Poor Relief (Select Vestries) Bill.—Draft of an Act for preventing the Poor's being cheated.
1783 Means Effectually Preventing Theft & Robbery 97 It hath been..said, that this parish poor relief appears to have been the best contrived remedy for that evil.
1855 N.-Y. Daily Times 6 Feb. 2/3 I have been for some time an anxious observer of the workings of the public mind on the question of Poor-Relief in this City.
1991 J. Kingdom Local Govt. & Politics in Brit. ii. 29 The new authorities were to effect a harsh system of poor relief to force people to work for the lowest possible wages.
poor school n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > school for the poor
hospital1552
charity-school1682
Blue Coat Hospital1700
blue coat school1706
poor school1727
national school1814
industrial school1827
ragged school1843
kitchengarten1877
barrack school1894
1727 Pietas Hallensis Pref. p. xi A full Description of the Hospital, Poor Schools, and other charitable Provisions at Glaucha by Hall.
1857 G. Oliver Coll. Hist. Catholic Relig. Cornwall 427 He established a poor-school on the premises.
1901 Westm. Gaz. 10 Dec. 3/2 In the poor-schools where the bairns get more warmth..than anywhere else.
2001 Independent 28 Feb. (Review section) 7/1 He attended the elementary school, known locally as the ‘poor school’, before starting a career in broadcasting.
(b) Objective.† poor-bettering adj. Obsolete† poor-feeding adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1818 J. Bentham Church-of-Englandism 90 (note) The objection, urged against that system.., in the name of the Poor-bettering Society.
ΚΠ
1657 J. Watts Scribe, Pharisee 265 Is it not to deal our bread unto the hungry, etc., poor-feeding fasts?
b. † poor and rich n. Obsolete a kind of game (not identified).† poor-work n. Obsolete work done to make clothes, etc., for the poor.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > other specific games > [noun] > others
sitisota1400
papsea1450
half-bowl1477
pluck at the crow1523
white and black1555
running game1581
blow-pointa1586
hot cocklesa1586
one penny1585
cockelty bread1595
pouch1600
venter-point1600
hinch-pinch1603
hardhead1606
poor and rich1621
rowland-hoe1622
hubbub1634
handicap?a1653
owl1653
ostomachy1656
prelledsa1660
quarter-spellsa1660
yert-point1659
bob-her1702
score1710
parson has lost his cloak1712
drop (also throw) (the) handkerchief1754
French Fox1759
goal1765
warpling o' the green1768
start1788
kiss-in-the-ring1801
steal-clothes1809
steal-coat1816
petits paquets1821
bocce1828
graces1831
Jack-in-the-box1836
hot hand1849
sparrow-mumbling1852
Aunt Sally1858
gossip1880
Tambaroora1882
spoof1884
fishpond1892
nim1901
diabolo1906
Kim's game1908
beaver1910
treasure-hunt1913
roll-down1915
rock scissors paper1927
scissors cut paper1927
scissors game1927
the dozens1928
toad in the hole1930
game1932
scissors paper stone1932
Roshambo1936
Marco Polo1938
scavenger hunt1940
skish1940
rock paper scissors1947
to play chicken1949
sounding1962
joning1970
arcade game1978
1621 J. Taylor Motto D iv At Nouum, Mumchance, mischance,..or at Poore and rich.
1737 Poor Robin Dec. B 7 b Maw, Whip-her-jenny, Poor and Rich, With other fruitless Pastimes.
poor basket n. †(a) a basket for storing material from which clothes for the poor could be made (obsolete); (b) a basket in which food, money, etc., is collected for the poor.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > charitableness or alms-giving > that which is given in charity > receptacle for
alms disha1378
basket1535
alms-basketc1560
poor box1737
poor basket1814
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric for specific purpose > [noun] > for clothing > for clothing for specific people > basket containing
poor basket1814
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. vii. 147 If you have no work of your own, I can supply you from the poor-basket . View more context for this quotation
1921 Decatur (Illinois) Rev. 24 Dec. 8/4 (headline) Doughty hunters get sixty rabbits. Taylorville Elks put them in ‘poor’ baskets.
1994 Baltimore Sun (Nexis) 30 May 3 b Every year he gave the produce for the poor baskets that were distributed at Christmas.
poor chest n. (formerly also †poor's chest) = poor box n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > place for keeping money > containers for money contributions > [noun] > for poor
alms disha1378
poor man's box1549
alms-basketc1560
poor chest1612
poor boxa1637
1612 W. Parkes Curtaine-drawer 59 Hadst thou a gainefull hand, a rich poore chest.
1787 T. Sharp Rubric in Bk. Common Prayer 86 Whether they have diligently called upon, exhorted, and moved, their parishioners..to bestow that upon the poor Chest which they were wont to bestow upon Pardons, &c.
1886 Times 18 Oct. 3/2 The school fees of children whose parents are paupers are paid for out of the poor chest.
1998 Hist. Jrnl. 41 172 Communion services were also used as occasions to augment the parish poor chest.
poor farm n. U.S. (now chiefly historical) a farm run at public expense to house and support the poor.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > [noun] > other farms
home farm1749
city farm1750
county farm1785
factory farm1824
bird farm1842
provision farm1846
spade-farm1848
bush-farm1851
poor farm1852
sewage farm1870
cacao farm1871
mixed farm1872
vertical farm1897
prison farm1961
nuplex1968
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief > farm for poor
poor farm1852
1852 J. W. Gunnison Hist. Mormons 145 A Poor Farm of forty acres is in the centre, controlled by the bishops.
1961 N. Lofts House at Old Vine vi. vi. 380 I've thought about what I owed you... You'd have fared better at the Poor Farm!
2005 Toledo (Ohio) Blade (Nexis) 22 May t32 The Wood County Historical Museum..is now known as one of the last remaining county poor farms to have nearly all of its original buildings.
poormaster n. U.S. a parish or county officer who superintends the relief and support of the poor.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > parish official > [noun] > responsible for relief of poor
overseerc1600
relieving officer1677
Guardian of the Poor1782
pass-master1818
poormaster1853
1853 Frederick Douglass' Paper (Rochester, N.Y.) (Electronic text) 21 Jan. It is a common idea that the election of a President, a Congressman, and the like is a great event which should absorb our thoughts and means, while the election of a Justice, Assessor, Poormaster &c., is scarce worth regarding.
1873 Harper's Mag. Apr. 799/2 The ‘prisoner’ said he would prefer to pay the fine; and..he walked over to the poor-master of the town and paid the ten dollars.
2002 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 27 May b1 Also chosen are six new police marshals, two assessors, two poormasters—who coordinate the distribution of food vouchers and other goods to the needy—and two highway commissioners.
poor money n. (also formerly †poor's money) money collected for distribution to the poor.
ΚΠ
1702 in H. Paton Session Bk. Wigtown (1934) 32 To require at least he would give in twintie three pounds Scots of the poors money that is in his hand.
1713 G. Ritschel Acct. Certain Charities 12 A Note of the Poor-Money belonging to the Parish of Allendale.
1826 Times 17 May 2/6 From 1817, 1818, when wheat was at 90s., and the poor money amounted to 7,890,000l., there had been to 1822 a rapid and interrupted reduction of that very harassing impost.
2002 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 17 Oct. 3 The parish records contained details of the discipline, collections, distribution of poor money, marriages, baptisms and burials.
poor roll n. (also poor's roll) Scottish (now historical) (a) a roll of persons in receipt of poor relief; (b) a list of persons eligible because of poverty to receive legal assistance.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief > list of recipients of
poor roll1580
poor book1662
relief roll1829
1580 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1882) IV. 162 To..sett furth the rolles for sustening of the pure of this burgh conforme to the act of parliament [margin pure rolles].
1676 Cramond Kirk Session II. 29 May Ja. Stewart put out of the poores roll.
1752 A. McDouall Inst. Laws Scotl. II. 489 Advocates for the poor. How is one admitted to the poor's roll.
1824 Cases Court of Session 2 391 In an application for the benefit of the Poor's Roll, at the instance of Mrs. Wallace and her Son, it appearing that the son was a clerk in a counting-house..the Court refused the application as to him.
1988 I. Levitt Poverty & Welfare Scotl. viii. 178 The Board..could issue a Minute entitling the claimant to the benefit of the poor's roll in the Court of Session.
1990 E. M. MacArthur Iona ix. 121 The Parochial Board minutes from the 1860s onward record only three or four names from Iona as regularly on the poor roll.
poor tax n. (formerly also †poor's tax) a tax for the relief of the poor; a poor rate.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > local or municipal taxes or dues > [noun] > rates > for relief of poor
poor rate1601
poor tax1703
1703 4th Pt. Mod. Rep. 157 In replevin for taking of a Gelding, the Defendant justified by vertue of the Statute of the Queen, for Money due upon the Poor Tax.
1793 Friendly Address to Poor 3 The Poor's Tax is much increased in every part of the kingdom.
1804 Lit. Mag. June 175/2 The poor-taxes may be lessened, and every man pluck the fruit of his own fig-tree without being obliged to share it with others.
1947 J. Carmichael & M. Perlmann tr. C. Brockelmann Hist. Islamic Peoples iii. 43 The Muslim's fifth canonical obligation, the poor-tax, has grown more and more into a state tax during the evolution of Muslim society.
1993 A. L. Erickson Women & Property Early Mod. Eng. (1995) ii. 41 If we estimate very roughly..that up to one third of any local population was in receipt of poor relief..and one third or somewhat more paid poor tax, then [etc.]
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > poor-relief
relieving1389
relief1438
poor relief1698
legal charity1818
poor-work1854
1854 C. M. Yonge Castle Builders v. 69 Each good lady had a great basket full of poor-work.
1876 Monthly Packet Feb. App. 5 The Sisters at Kilburn are glad to have ‘poor work’ done for them, and..will provide the material.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
poorv.
/pɔː/, /pʊə/, U.S. /pʊ(ə)r/, /pɔr/ Now rare.† 1. intransitive. To become poor. Obsolete. † 3. transitive. To call or describe as unfortunate or deserving of compassion. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > be poor [verb (intransitive)] > become poor
poor?a1300
to come downa1382
decay1483
to bring haddock to paddock1546
to come to want1590
ruina1600
to come (also go) down in the world1819
?a1300 Sayings St. Bernard (Digby) in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 759 Nou þou art riche, and nou þou pouerest [v.rr. porest; art pouere; rhyme couerest].
a1500 De Regimine Principum (Marchm.) 140 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1927) II. Thi revm sal riche, and thou sal neuir [be] pure [rhyme cure].
1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 134a All to pure and nocht to plenȝie Sic freitis I hald nocht wirth a fas.
2. transitive. To make poor, impoverish.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > make poor or impoverish [verb (transitive)]
destroy1297
poverisha1382
apoora1400
impover1418
poora1425
dispurveyc1430
impoverish1440
beggar1528
weaken1530
ruinate1547
ruin1560
depauper1562
depoverish1569
craze1573
soak1577
sift1591
waste1599
impoor1613
uncluea1616
depauperate1623
disenrich1647
necessitate1647
erumnate1676
straiten1699
poorify1711
pauperize1806
pauperate1839
pauper1841
to clear out1884
immiserate1956
penny-pincha1961
immiserize1971
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 216 Þus ben lordis and rewmes poorid.
?1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 33 (MED) Summe off hem shulde sende him hors and somme chariottis and hors for cariage..Wherthurh they were gretly poueryd and oppresed.
1450 in 3rd Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1872) App. 280 in Parl. Papers (C. 673) XXXIII. 337 Thus is he riched, the kynge povered.
1467 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 88/2 The mone of this realme is born out in gret quantite and the realme puryt of the sammyn.
a1525 Thre Prestis of Peblis (Asloan) (1920) 16 Quhill Drynk & dyss haf powrit him to þe pyn [rhyme wyn].
a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 70v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Pur(e Scotland now is ane sait of ydill men at puris the kinrik.
1582 J. Young Let. 10 Feb. in R. V. Agnew Corr. P. Waus (1887) I. 237 The possessoris..hes sa purit that land..that it is not abill to rander any frut.
2003 Dallas (Texas) News (Nexis) 10 Aug. 3 h It is very evident that Americans are being ‘poored down’ to suit the world socialist agenda, and to maximize profits for the international corporations.
ΚΠ
1854 B. F. Taylor Jan. & June 92 We ‘played’ it was a bird, and ‘poored’ it, and offered it crumbs of bread every day.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iv. 27 Miss Lavinia..put in that she didn't want to be ‘poored by pa,’ or anybody else.
1868 A. Helps Realmah (1869) viii. 227 Don't ‘poor’ me, Sir. Nobody ever ‘poored’ me before.
Derivatives
ˈpooring n. [probably after greening n.1 4] impoverishment.
ΚΠ
1979 in W. Greider Who will tell People iv. xvii. 395 We're looking at the pooring of America.
1991 USA Today (Nexis) 8 Aug. 1 b Chrysler President Robert Lutz said the recession has caused a ‘pooring’ of the USA so people can't buy cars.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.21427
adj.n.1a1200
v.?a1300