n.
Pronunciation: ' men-di-k ə nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin mendicant-, mendicans, present participle of mendicare to beg, from mendicus beggar ― more at AMEND
Date: 14th century
1 : BEGGAR 1
2 often capitalized : a member of a religious order (as the Franciscans) combining monastic life and outside religious activity and orig. owning neither personal nor community property : FRIAR
– mendicant adjective