different between poor vs poorer
poor
English
Etymology
From Middle English povre, povere, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) povre, poure (Modern French pauvre), from Latin pauper (English pauper), from Old Latin *pavo-pars (literally “getting little”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh?w- (“few, small”). Cognate with Old English f?awa (“little, few”). Doublet of pauper.
Displaced native Middle English earm, arm (“poor”) (from Old English earm; See arm), Middle English wantsum, wantsome (“poor, needy”) (from Old Norse vant (“deficiency, lack, want”)), Middle English unlede (“poor”) (from Old English unl?de), Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy”) (from Old English un- + weli? (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich”).
Pronunciation
- (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA(key): /po?/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /p??/, /pu?/, /p??/
- (Indian English) IPA(key): /?p?(?)?(r)/
- (Received Pronunciation)
- IPA(key): /p??(?)/, /p??(?)/
- (US)
- IPA(key): /p??/, /p??/
- Rhymes: -??(?), -??(?)
- Homophones: pour, pore (with the pour-poor merger)
- Homophone: paw (in some non-rhotic accents, with the pour-poor merger)
Adjective
poor (comparative poorer, superlative poorest)
- With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
- The poor are always with us.
- Of low quality.
- Used to express pity.
- Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
- Deficient in a specified way.
- Inadequate, insufficient.
- a. 1686, Benjamin Calamy, Sermon 1
- That I have wronged no Man, will be a poor plea or apology at the last day.
- a. 1686, Benjamin Calamy, Sermon 1
- Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Usage notes
When the word "poor" is used to express pity, it does not change the meaning of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "Give this soup to that poor man!", the word "poor" does not serve to indicate which man is meant (and so the sentence expresses exactly the same command as "Give this soup to that man!"). Instead, the word "poor" merely adds an expression of pity to the sentence.
Synonyms
- (with no or few possessions or money): See Thesaurus:impoverished
- (of low quality): inferior
- (to be pitied): pitiable, arm
Antonyms
- (with no or few possessions): rich, wealthy
- (of low quality): good
- (deficient in a specified way): rich
- (inadequate): adequate
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- deserving poor
- poorhouse
- undeserving poor
Related terms
Translations
Anagrams
- poro-, roop
Limburgish
Etymology
From Walloon porea.
Noun
poor m
- leek
Old French
Noun
poor f (oblique plural poors, nominative singular poor, nominative plural poors)
- fear
poor From the web:
- what poor means
- what poor vision looks like
- what poor circulation can cause
- what poor prognosis means
- what poor eyesight looks like
- what poor astronomers are they
- what poor in spirit means
- what poor instructions make crossword
poorer
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
poorer
- comparative form of poor: more poor
poorer From the web:
- poorer meaning
- what does poorer mean
- what does poor prognosis mean
- what is poorer health
- what do poorer meaning
- what does poor mean
- what rhymes with poorer
- what is the poorer country in the world
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