Beggar vs. Mendicant — What's the Difference?

A person, typically a homeless one, who lives by asking for money or food.

A mendicant (from Latin: mendicans, "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many instances members have taken a vow of poverty, in order that all their time and energy could be expended on practicing their respective faith, preaching and serving society.

A person of a specified type, especially one to be envied or pitied

Depending on alms for a living; practicing begging.

Reduce (someone) to poverty

Of or relating to religious orders whose members are forbidden to own property individually or in common and must work or beg for their livings.

One who solicits alms for a living.

A beggar.

An impoverished person; a pauper.

A member of a mendicant order.

(Informal) A man or a boy.

Depending on alms for a living.

To make a beggar of; impoverish.

Of or pertaining to a beggar.

To exceed the limits, resources, or capabilities of

Of or pertaining to a member of a religious order forbidden to own property, and who must beg for a living.

A person who begs.

A pauper who lives by begging.

A person suffering from extreme poverty.

A religious friar, forbidden to own personal property, who begs for a living.

A mean or wretched person; a scoundrel.

Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, mendicant friars.

(UK) A minced oath for bugger.

A beggar; esp., one who makes a business of begging; specifically, a begging friar.

(transitive) To make a beggar of someone; impoverish.

A male member of a religious order that originally relied soley on alms

To exhaust the resources of; to outdo.

A pauper who lives by begging

One who begs; one who asks or entreats earnestly, or with humility; a petitioner.

Practicing beggary;

One who makes it his business to ask alms.

One who is dependent upon others for support; - a contemptuous or sarcastic use.

One who assumes in argument what he does not prove.

To reduce to beggary; to impoverish; as, he had beggared himself.

To cause to seem very poor and inadequate.

A pauper who lives by begging

Be beyond the resources of;

Reduce to beggary