Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Dictionary: POOR – POP-LIT'E-AL, or POP-LIT'IC
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POOR, a. [L. pauper; Fr. pauvre; Sp. pobre; It. povero; Arm. paour; Norm. pour, power.]
- Wholly destitute of property, or not having property sufficient for a comfortable subsistence; needy. It is often synonymous with indigent, and with necessitous, denoting extreme want; it is also applied to persons who are not entirely destitute of property, but are not rich; as, a poor man or woman; poor people.
- In law, so destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
- Destitute of strength, beauty or dignity; barren; mean; jejune; as, a poor composition; a poor essay; a poor discourse.
- Destitute of value, worth or importance; of little use; trifling. That I have wronged no man, will be a poor plea or apology at the last day. – Calamy.
- Paltry; mean; of little value; as, a poor coat; a poor house.
- Destitute of fertility; barren; exhausted; as, poor land. The ground is become poor.
- Of little worth; unimportant; as, in my poor opinion. – Swift.
- Unhappy; pitiable. Vex'd sailors curse the rain / For which poor shepherds pray'd in vain. – Waller.
- Mean; depressed; low; dejected; destitute of spirit. A soothsayer made Antonius believe that his genius, which was otherwise brave, was, in the presence of Octavianus, poor and cowardly. – Bacon.
- Lean; emaciated; as, a poor horse. The ox is poor.
- Small, or of a bad quality; as, a poor crop; a poor harvest.
- Uncomfortable; restless; ill. The patient has had a poor night.
- Destitute of saving grace. – Rev. iii.
- In general, wanting good qualities, or the qualities which render a thing valuable, excellent, proper, or sufficient for its purpose; as, a poor pen; a poor ship; a poor carriage; poor fruit; poor bread; poor wine, &c.
- A word of tenderness or pity; dear. Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing. – Prior.
- A word of slight contempt; wretched. The poor monk never saw many of the decrees and councils he had occasion to use. – Baker.
- The poor, collectively, used as a noun; those who are destitute of property; the indigent; the needy; in a legal sense, those who depend on charity or maintenance by the public. I have observed the more public provisions are made for the poor, the less they provide for themselves. – Franklin. Poor in spirit, in a Scriptural sense, humble; contrite; abased in one's own sight by a sense of guilt. – Matth. v.
POOR'ER, a. [comp.]
More poor.
POOR'EST, a. [superl.]
Most poor.
POOR'JOHN, n.
A sort of fish; the torsk, the Gadus Callarias. – Ainsworth.
POOR'LY, a.
Somewhat ill; indisposed; not in health; a common use of the word. For three or four weeks past I have lost ground, having been poorly in health. – Th. Scott.
POOR'LY, adv.
- Without wealth; in indigence or want of the conveniences and comforts of life; as, to live poorly. – Sidney.
- With little or no success; with little growth, profit or advantage; as, wheat grows poorly on the Atlantic borders of New England; these men have succeeded poorly in business.
- Meanly; without spirit. Nor is their courage or their wealth so low, / That from his wars they poorly would retire. – Dryden.
- Without excellence or dignity. He performs poorly in elevated characters.
POOR'NESS, n.
- 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.]
- Meanness; lowness; want of dignity; as, the poorness of language.
- Want of spirit; as, poorness and degeneracy of spirit – Addison.
- Barrenness; sterility; as, the poorness of land or soil.
- Unproductiveness; want of the metallic substance; as the poorness of ore.
- Smallness or bad quality; as, the poorness of crops or of grain.
- Want of value or importance; as, the poorness of a plea.
- 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.
- Narrowness; barrenness; want of capacity. – Spectator. Poorness of spirit, in a theological sense, true humility or contrition of heart on account of sin.
POOR-SPIR'IT-ED, a.
Of a mean spirit; cowardly; base. – Denham.
Meanness or baseness of spirit; cowardice. – South.
POP, adv.
Suddenly; with sudden entrance or appearance.
POP, n. [D. poep. The primary sense is to drive or thrust.]
A small smart quick sound or report. – Spectator.
POP, v.i.
- To enter or issue forth with a quick, sudden motion. I startled at his popping upon me unexpectedly. – Addison.
- To dart; to start from place to place suddenly. – Swift.
POP, v.t.
To thrust or push suddenly with a quick motion. He popp'd a paper into his hand. – Milton. Didst thou never pop / Thy head into a tinman's shop? – Prior. To pop off, to thrust away; to shift off. – Locke.
POPE, n. [Gr. παπα, παππας, παππος; Low L. papa; Hindoo, bab; Turkish, baba; Bithynian, pappas; Sp. It. and Port. papa; Fr. pape; Scythian, papa. The word denotes father, and is among the first words articulated by children.]
- The bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman church. – Encyc.
- A small fish, called also a ruff. – Walton.
POPE-DOM, n.
- The place, office or dignity of the pope; papal dignity. – Shak.
- The jurisdiction of the pope.
POPE-JOAN, n.
A game of cards. – Jenner.
POPE-LING, n.
An adherent of the pope.
POPE-RY, n.
The religion of the church of Rome, comprehending doctrines and practices. – Swift. Encyc.
POP'GUN, n.
A small gun or tube used by children to shoot wads and make a noise. Cheyne.
POP'IN-JAY, n. [Sp. papagayo; papa and gayo; Port. id.; It. pappagallo.]
- A parrot. Grew.
- A woodpecker, a bird with a gay head. – Peacham. The green woodpecker, with a scarlet crown, a native of Europe. – Ed. Encyc.
- A gay, trifling young man; a fop or coxcomb. – Shak.
POP-ISH, a.
Relating to the pope; taught by the pope; pertaining to the pope or the church of Rome; as, popish tenets or ceremonies.
POP-ISH-LY, adv.
In a popish manner; with a tendency to popery; as, to be popishly affected or inclined.
POP'LAR, n. [L. populus; Fr. peuplier; It. pioppo; D. populier; G. pappel, poplar and mallows; Sw. poppel-tråd; Ir. pobhlar.]
A tree of the genus Populus, of several species, as the abele, the white poplar, the black poplar, the aspen-tree, &c. – Encyc.
POP'LIN, n.
A stuff made of silk and worsted.
POP-LIT'E-AL, or POP-LIT'IC, a. [from L. poples, the ham.]
Pertaining to the ham or knee joint. – Med. Repos.