different between indigent vs incapable

English

Etymology

Circa 1400, Middle French, from Latin indigentem, from indig?re (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + eg?re (“be in need, want”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nd?d???nt/

Adjective

indigent (comparative more indigent, superlative most indigent)

1. Poor; destitute; in need.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:impoverished

   Antonym: affluent

   • 1830, Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Thomas Ritchie (1830), page 422:

     Many of the indigent children are so badly provided for by their parents, with both food and raiment, that they cannot attend school regularly; […]

   • 1932, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Nicodemus, "Prodigal Son":

     And were I not a thing for you and me

     To execrate in angish, you would be

     As indigent a stranger to surprise,

     I fear, as I was once, and as unwise.

   • 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:

     I had since my introduction to the prince been sensitive to the fact that he must think an obviously indigent soldier of fortune will sooner or later open the subject of a subscription to the Greek Cause.

   • 2011, Carla Ulbrich, How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health With Humor, Creativity, and Grit, Tell Me Press (2011), ?ISBN, page 65:

     Because of this, when my second major health fiasco happened, I had no insurance, so I went to a teaching hospital where they took indigent patients.

   • 2013, Larry J. Siegel & John L. Worral, Essentials of Criminal Justice, Wadsworth (2013), ?ISBN, page 162:

     In numerous Supreme Court decisions since Gideon v. Wainwright, the states have been required to provide counsel for indigent defendants at virtually all other stages of the criminal process, beginning with arrest and concluding with the defendant's release from the system.

2. (archaic) Utterly lacking or in need of something specified.
   • 1620, Francis Bacon, Instauratio Magnus, Part III, Section ii, subsection "Liquifaction":

     Again some Bodies dissolve both in Fire and Water, as Gums; &c. And these are such, as have both Plenty of Spirit; and their tangible Parts indigent of Moisture: the former promotes the Dilatation of the Spirits by the Fire and the latter stimulates the Parts to receive the Liquor.

   • 1701, Richard Steele, The Funeral: or, Grief A-la-mode, ActII, sc. 1:

     Will Providence guard us? How do I ?ee that our Sex is naturally Indigent of Protection?—I hope it is in Fate to crown our Loves; for 'tis only in the Protection of Men of Honour, that we are naturally truly Safe […]

Translations

Noun

indigent (plural indigents)

1. A person in need, or in poverty.
   • 1975, Robertson Davies, World of Wonders, Penguin Books (1976), ?ISBN, page 161:

     I liked the streets best, so I walked and stared, and slept in a Salvation Army hostel for indigents. But I was no indigent; I was rich in feeling, and that was a luxury I had rarely known.

   • 2009, Mara Vorhees, Moscow, Lonely Planet (2009), ?ISBN, page 29:

     The influx of indigents overwhelmed the city's meagre social services and affordable accommodation.

   • 2011, Michael Parenti, Democracy for the Few, Wadsworth (2011), ?ISBN, page 78:

     Then in 2005 a Republican-led Congress passed a bill requiring millions of low-income people to pay higher co-payments and premiums under Medicaid. The result was that many more indigents had to forgo care.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:pauper

Translations

Related terms

• indigence

References

Anagrams

• enditing

French

Etymology

From Latin indigentem, from indig?re (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egere (“be in need, want”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.di.???/

Adjective

indigent (feminine singular indigente, masculine plural indigents, feminine plural indigentes)

1. (very) poor, needy, destitute

Synonyms

• (very poor): très pauvre

Noun

indigent m (plural indigents, feminine indigente)

1. poor person, indigent (plural:) needy, destitute, poor

Further reading

• “indigent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

indigent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of indige?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French incapable, in- +? capable

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ke?p?bl?/, /???ke?p?bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?ca?pable

Adjective

incapable (comparative more incapable, superlative most incapable)

1. Not capable (of doing something); unable.
2. Not in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit.

   incapable of pain, or pleasure; incapable of stain or injury

Synonyms

• (not capable): unable
• (not in a state to receive): refusing

Antonyms

• capable

Derived terms

• incapability
• incapably

Related terms

• incapacitate
• incapacitation

Translations

Noun

incapable (plural incapables)

1. (dated) One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton.

French

Etymology

From Latin incapabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.ka.pabl/

Adjective

incapable (plural incapables)

1. unable, incapable

Noun

incapable m (plural incapables, feminine incapable)

1. incompetent (person)

Further reading

• “incapable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).