Paupers

/ˈpɔːpərz/ noun

Definition

People who are extremely poor and depend on charity or government assistance to survive.

Etymology

From Latin 'pauper' meaning poor. It entered English in the 14th century and was commonly used in medieval and Victorian times to refer to the destitute.

Kelly Says

In Victorian England, paupers went to workhouses where conditions were so deliberately harsh that they discouraged poor people from seeking aid—Charles Dickens exposed this cruelty in 'Oliver Twist'!

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