Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent. Note: It is often synonymous with indigent and with necessitous denoting extreme want. It is also applied to persons who are not entirely destitute of property, but who are not rich; as, a poor man or woman; poor people.
2.
(Law) So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
3.
Hence, in very various applications: Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected; as:
(a)
Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc."Seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed."
(b)
Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits. "His genius... poor and cowardly."
(c)
Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings. "A poor vessel."
(d)
Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; said of land; as, poor soil.
(e)
Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture.
(f)
Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night.
(g)
Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse. "That I have wronged no man will be a poor plea or apology at the last day."
4.
Worthy of pity or sympathy; used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt. "And for mine own poor part, Look you, I'll go pray.""Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing."
5.
Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
Poor law, a law providing for, or regulating, the relief or support of the poor.
Poor man's treacle (Bot.), garlic; so called because it was thought to be an antidote to animal poison. (Eng)
Poor man's weatherglass (Bot.), the red-flowered pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), which opens its blossoms only in fair weather.
Poor rate, an assessment or tax, as in an English parish, for the relief or support of the poor.
Poor soldier (Zool.), the friar bird.
The poor, those who are destitute of property; the indigent; the needy. In a legal sense, those who depend on charity or maintenance by the public. "I have observed the more public provisions are made for the poor, the less they provide for themselves."
... especially when alone, would what he called "draw him out," and the game once unearthed, with so skilled a pack there was but little fear of a bad run. When all were reduced to silence, Lord Marney relinquishing controversy, assumed the positive. He eulogized the new poor law, which he declared would be the salvation of the country, provided it was "carried out" in the spirit in which it was developed in the Marney Union; but then he would add that there was no district except their union in which ... — Sybil - or the Two Nations • Benjamin Disraeli Read full book for free!
... mansion. Gorgeously decorated as were the other apartments of his princely residence, this apartment, with its plain business-look—its hard benches for such of the tenantry as came to him or his agent on business—its walls garnished with abstracts of the Game and Poor Law Enactments—its worn old chairs and heavy oak presses, the open doors of some of which disclosed bundles of old papers, parchments, etc.—this little room, the only one almost ever seen by any save the aristocracy ... — Edward Barnett; a Neglected Child of South Carolina, Who Rose to Be a Peer of Great Britain,--and the Stormy Life of His Grandfather, Captain Williams • Tobias Aconite Read full book for free!
... as measured by quantity and in part by quality, a splendid year of legislation. In 1834 the Government and Lord Althorp far beyond all others did themselves high honour by the new Poor Law Act, which rescued the English peasantry from the total loss of their independence. Of the 658 members of Parliament about 480 must have been their general supporters. Much gratitude ought to have been felt for this great administration. But from ... — The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3) - 1809-1859 • John Morley Read full book for free!
... had a protest to make against the practice of refusing to help the poor except through the machinery of the Poor Law. Referring to Christ's having compassionated the hungry crowd and fed them, he said: "If Jesus Christ were alive now and presumed to feed a crowd of people, He would be had up by some society or other, and prosecuted for encouraging mendicancy. ... — Faces and Places • Henry William Lucy Read full book for free!
...
