beggar

n. [ OE. beggere, fr. beg. ] 1. One who begs; one who asks or entreats earnestly, or with humility; a petitioner. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who makes it his business to ask alms. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who is dependent upon others for support; -- a contemptuous or sarcastic use. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One who assumes in argument what he does not prove. Abp. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition of being a beggar; also, the class of beggars. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Beggary. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. any of various Eurasian and North American plants having small prickly nutlets that stick to clothing.
Syn. -- beggar's lice, beggar's-lice, beggar lice. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. any of various tropical and subtropical plants having trifoliate leaves and rough sticky pod sections or loments.
Syn. -- tick trefoil, tick-trefoil, beggar's-lice. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The quality or state of being beggarly; meanness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. In the condition of, or like, a beggar; suitable for a beggar; extremely indigent; poverty-stricken; mean; poor; contemptible. “A bankrupt, beggarly fellow.” South. “A beggarly fellowship.” Swift. “Beggarly elements.” Gal. iv. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Produced or occasioned by beggary. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Beggarly sins, that is, those sins which idleness and beggary usually betray men to; such as lying, flattery, stealing, and dissimulation. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an indigent, mean, or despicable manner; in the manner of a beggar. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) The prickly fruit or seed of certain plants (as some species of Echinospermum and Cynoglossum) which cling to the clothing of those who brush by them. [ 1913 Webster ]