Etymology

poverty

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Today it means: The quality or state of being poor; lack of money Full definition →

Middle English poverte ← Old French poverté ← Latin paupertās
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompaupertās
  2. Old French · derived frompoverté
  3. Middle English · inherited frompoverte
  4. English todaypoverty

From Middle English poverte, from Old French poverté (Modern French pauvreté), from Latin paupertās, from pauper (“poor”) + -tas (“noun of state suffix”). Cognates include pauper, poor.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.