different between mean-spirited vs beggarly

English

Alternative forms

• mean spirited
• meanspirited

Adjective

mean-spirited (comparative more mean-spirited, superlative most mean-spirited)

1. Having a base, nasty, petty, or malevolent disposition.
   • 1877, Edward Payson Roe, A Knight Of The Nineteenth Century, ch. 15,

     My old acquaintances would sneer at me as a mean-spirited cur, whose best exploit was to get in jail.

References

• mean-spirited in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “mean-spirited” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.

English

Etymology

beggar +? -ly

Adjective

beggarly (comparative beggarlier, superlative beggarliest)

1. In the manner of a beggar; poverty-stricken; mean; poor; contemptible.

   beggarly fellow

2. Fit for a beggar; occasioned by begging.

   beggarly rags

   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     Beggarly sins, that is, those sins which idleness and beggary usually betray men to; such as lying, flattery, stealing, and dissimulation.

3. (by extension) inadequate or meagre.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:impoverished

Derived terms

• beggarliness

Adverb

beggarly (comparative more beggarly, superlative most beggarly)

1. In an indigent, mean, or despicable manner; in the manner of a beggar.