The state, condition, or practice of being a beggar; extreme poverty or the custom of begging.
From 'beggar' plus '-ism' suffix (denoting a state, system, or practice). The word refers both to the condition of beggary and to begging as a social system or way of life.
Medieval and early modern cities were plagued with 'beggarism' as a social problem, and historians used this term to describe not just poverty but an entire underworld economy of organized begging and street life.
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