The state or practice of begging; extreme poverty or the condition of living as a beggar.
From Middle English 'beggerie,' derived from 'beggar' + '-ry' (a suffix denoting action, practice, or condition). Common in Middle and Early Modern English.
Shakespeare used 'beggary' to describe not just poverty but the loss of dignity—'thou art beggar-born' was a grave insult because beggary meant utter helplessness, not just lack of money.
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