Emily Dickinson Lexicon

POOR'NESS, n.

1. Destitution of property; indigence; poverty; want; as, the poorness of the exchequer. No less I hate him than the gates of hell, / That poorness can force an untruth to tell. – Chapman. [In this sense, we generally use poverty.]
2. Meanness; lowness; want of dignity; as, the poorness of language.
3. Want of spirit; as, poorness and degeneracy of spirit – Addison.
4. Barrenness; sterility; as, the poorness of land or soil.
5. Unproductiveness; want of the metallic substance; as the poorness of ore.
6. Smallness or bad quality; as, the poorness of crops or of grain.
7. Want of value or importance; as, the poorness of a plea.
8. Want of good qualities, or the proper qualities which constitute a thing good in its kind; as, the poorness of a ship or of cloth.
9. Narrowness; barrenness; want of capacity. – Spectator. Poorness of spirit, in a theological sense, true humility or contrition of heart on account of sin.