BEGGARLY


Meaning of BEGGARLY in English

I. -gə(r)lē, -li adverb

Etymology: Middle English, from beggare + -ly

archaic : in a mean, servile, or despicable manner

entreated them beggarly for alms

II. adjective

Etymology: beggar (I) + -ly

1. : befitting or like a beggar : marked by low mean unrelieved poverty

beggarly starved-out paupers — Anthony Trollope

2. : meriting or arousing contempt or disain especially by being mean, scant, or paltry

the poorest and most beggarly things … in the whole range of criticism — George Saintsbury

Synonyms: see contemptible

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.