KJV Dictionary Definition: poor

poor

POOR, a. L. pauper.

1. 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

2. In law, so destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.

3. Destitute of strength, beauty or dignity; barren; mean; jejune; as a poor composition; a poor essay; a poor discourse.

4. 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.

5. Paltry; mean; of little value; as a poor coat; a poor house.

6. Destitute of fertility; barren; exhausted; as poor land. The ground is become poor.

7. Of little worth; unimportant; as in my poor opinion.

8. Unhappy; pitiable.

Vex'd sailors curse the rain

For which poor shepherds pray'd in vain.

9. 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.

10. Lean; emaciated; as a poor horse. The ox is poor.

11. Small, or of a bad quality; as a poor crop; a poor harvest.

12. Uncomfortable; restless; ill. The patient has had a poor night.

13. Destitute of saving grace. Rev.3.

14. 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.

15. A word of tenderness or pity; dear.

Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing.

16. A word of slight contempt; wretched.

The poor monk never saw many of the decrees and councils he had occasion to use.

17. 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.

Poor in spirit, in a Scriptural sense, humble; contrite; abased in one's own sight by a sense of guilt. Matt.5.

poorness

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.

In this sense, we generally use poverty.

1. Meanness; lowness; want of dignity; as the poorness of language.

2. Want of spirit; as poorness and degeneracy of spirit.

3. Barrenness; sterility; as the poorness of land or soil.

4. Unproductiveness; want of the metallic substance; as the poorness of ore.

5. Smallness or bad quality; as the poorness of crops or of grain.

6. Want of value or importance; as the poorness of a plea.

7. 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.

8. Narrowness; barrenness; want of capacity.

Poorness of spirit, in a theological sense, true humility or contrition of heart on account of sin.

Definitions from Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.
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