Etymology

mendicant

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Today it means: Depending on alms for a living. Full definition →

Middle English mendicant ← Latin mendīcāns
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frommendīcāns
  2. Middle English · inherited frommendicant
  3. English todaymendicant

From Middle English mendicant, from Latin mendīcāns, present participle of mendīcō (“beg”). Compare French mendiant.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.