Definitions for mendicantˈmɛn dɪ kənt

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word mendicant

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

men•di•cantˈmɛn dɪ kənt(adj.)

  1. begging; living on alms.

  2. pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.

  3. of or pertaining to various religious orders, as the Dominicans or the Franciscans, that combine the monastic life with an active ministry in teaching or preaching and that originally owned neither personal nor community property, living chiefly on alms.

    Category: Religion

  4. (n.)a person who lives by begging; beggar.

  5. a mendicant friar.

    Category: Religion

Origin of mendicant:

1425–75; < L mendīcant-, s. of mendīcāns, prp. of mendīcāre to beg, der. of mendīcus beggarly; see -ant

men′di•can•cy-ˈdɪs ɪ ti(n.)

men•dic′i•ty-ˈdɪs ɪ ti(n.)

Princeton's WordNet

  1. friar, mendicant(noun)

    a male member of a religious order that originally relied solely on alms

  2. beggar, mendicant(adj)

    a pauper who lives by begging

  3. mendicant(adj)

    practicing beggary

    "mendicant friars"


  1. mendicant(Noun)

    A pauper who lives by begging.

  2. mendicant(Noun)

    A religious friar forbidden to own personal property who begs for a living.

  3. mendicant(Adjective)

    Depending on alms for a living.

  4. mendicant(Adjective)

    Of or pertaining to a beggar.

  5. mendicant(Adjective)

    Of or pertaining to a member of a religious order forbidden to own property, and who must beg for a living.

  6. Origin: From mendicans, present participle of mendico. Compare French mendiant.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Mendicant(adj)

    practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, mendicant friars

  2. Mendicant(noun)

    a beggar; esp., one who makes a business of begging; specifically, a begging friar


  1. Mendicant

    The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive. In principle, mendicant orders or followers do not own property, either individually or collectively, and have taken a vow of poverty, in order that all their time and energy could be expended on practising or preaching their religion or way of life and serving the poor. Many religious orders adhere to a mendicant way of life, including the Catholic mendicant orders, Hindu ascetics, some dervishes of Sufi Islam, and the monastic orders of Jainism and Buddhism. In the Catholic Church, followers of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Dominic became known as mendicants, as they would beg for food while they preached to the villages. While mendicants are the original type of monks in Buddhism and have a long history in Indian Hinduism and the countries which adapted Indian religious traditions, they didn't become widespread in Christianity until the High Middle Ages. The Way of a Pilgrim depicts the life of an Eastern Christian mendicant.


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