A person who asks people for money or food because they are very poor and have nowhere else to turn for help.
From Middle English 'beggen' and Old French 'begard'; possibly from the Beghard movement (a medieval religious community). The word has meant a poor person who asks for charity since the 1200s.
Medieval beggars in Europe were sometimes members of religious groups who took vows of poverty—so 'beggar' wasn't always an insult but could mean someone who chose a spiritual life of simplicity.
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