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.
Vexd sailors curse the rain
For which poor shepherds prayd 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 ones own sight by a sense of guilt. Matt.5.
poorness
POORNESS, 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.