poor: [13] Poor came via Old French povre from Latin pauper ‘poor’. This is thought originally to have been a compound meaning literally ‘getting little’, formed from paucus ‘little’ (a distant relative of English few) and parāre ‘get, prepare’ (source of English prepare). Its derivative paupertās has given English poverty [12], and pauper itself was acquired by English in the 16th century as a noun meaning ‘poor person’. => few, pauper, poverty
poor (adj.)
c. 1200, "lacking money or resources, destitute; needy, indigent; small, scanty," from Old French povre "poor, wretched, dispossessed; inadequate; weak, thin" (Modern French pauvre), from Latin pauper "poor, not wealthy," from pre-Latin *pau-paros "producing little; getting little," a compound from the roots of paucus "little" (see paucity) and parare "to produce, bring forth" (see pare).
Replaced Old English earm. Figuratively from early 14c. Meaning "of inferior quality" is from c. 1300. Of inhabited places from c. 1300; of soil, etc., from late 14c. The poor boy sandwich, made of simple but filling ingredients, was invented and named in New Orleans in 1921. To poor mouth "deny one's advantages" is from 1965 (to make a poor mouth "whine" is Scottish dialect from 1822). Slang poor man's ________ "the cheaper alternative to _______," is from 1854.
poor (n.)
"poor persons collectively," mid-12c., from poor (adj.). The Latin adjective pauper "poor" also was used in a noun sense "a poor man."
雙語例句
1. Conditions for the poor in Los Angeles have not improved.
洛杉磯窮人的境況仍未得到改善。
來自柯林斯例句
2. This courtroom battle has been a poor advert for English justice.
這場法庭上的爭論為英格蘭的司法製度做了一次拙劣的廣告。
來自柯林斯例句
3. The expedition was wrecked by bad planning and poor navigation.
這次探險因計劃不周和導航不利而失敗。
來自柯林斯例句
4. She has a poor complexion and pock marks on her forehead.
她滿麵菜色，額頭上有些麻子。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Poor Dr Pegler got terribly behindhand with his appointments.