What is the Latin word for poor?

The usual Latin words for “poor” are pauper, tenuis, egēnus; also egeō, inops, mendīcus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“poor” in Latin

pauperpoor tenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuous egēnusin want or need of; destitute of; indigent, needy egeōto lack, to want, to be without; to need, to require; to desire, to long for, to want inopshelpless, destitute, indigent, poor; deprived, lacking, needy (+ genitive or ab + ablative); mean, wretched, contemptibl mendīcusbeggarly, needy, indigent prīvātusapart from the state; unofficial, private; peculiar, special, personal, individual vīlischeap, inexpensive; base, vile, mean, worthless, cheap, paltry āridusdry, parched, withered, arid; dry, lean, meagre, shrivelled; withered (e.g. from disease); uninspired, jejune, spiritles ieiūnusfasting, abstinent, hungry; dry, barren, unproductive; scanty, meager

The English word poor itself goes back to Latin pauper.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

poor

Not rich, pauper (πένης, that has barely enough for his necessary expenses; opposed to dives): tenuis (σπάνιος, that has a very small, limited income; opposed to locuples): egenus, in prose usually egens (ἐνδεής, that is in want, that has not enough for necessary uses; opposed to abundans). (The words are found in this connection and order.) tenuis atque egens: inops (ἄπορος, helpless, without means or resources; opposed to opulentes): mendicus (πτωχός, obliged to live on charity, beggared). Somewhat poor, pauperculus: very poor, perpauper; egentissimus; omnibus rebus egens; omnium egenus; cui minus nihilo est: the poor, in the Roman sense, capite censi (because at the census only their number was taken, without respect to their property) or proletarii (because they could offer to the state nothing else than their children): to be poor, in egestate esse or versari; vitam in egestate degere; vitam inopem colere (to live in poverty): to be very poor, in summa egestate, mendicitate esse; omnium rerum inopem esse: to grow or become poor, egentem fieri; ad inopiam redigi: I am grown poor, res mihi ad rastros rediit (I must take to the spade; comedy): to make anybody poor, egestatem alicui afferre; ad inopiam aliquem redigere; ad mendicitatem aliquem detrudere (to reduce to beggary): to enrich a poor man, egentem divitem facere; locupletem ex egenti efficere; tenuiorem locupletare: to pretend to be poor, paupertatem or pauperem simulare.

Deficient, in want of anything, inops alicujus rei, re or ab re; sterilis alicujus rei or ab aliqua re (empty of): privatus or spoliatus aliqua re (deprived of): a poor language, inops lingua: an age poor in virtues, saeculum virtutum sterile (Tac., Hist., 1, 3, 1).

Meagre, vilis (εὐτελής, mean): aridus (opposed to copiosus, e.g., victus, oratio, orator): jejunus (barren, jejune; opposed to plenus, copiosus; e.g., res; oratio; orator; scriptor): exilis (without power; opposed to uber, plenus, of a speech, and of a speaker).

Bad, inferior, small, tenuis (slight): miser (wretched, pitiful): vilis (mean): malus (bad): poor food, tenuis victus: a poor speech, oratio jejuna: a poor hut, casa exigua: a poor soil, macrum solum: a poor present, munusculum levidense: a poor poet, poeta malus, ineptus or insulsus: poor consolation, solatium malum or miserum: poor circumstances, res pauperculae; angustiae rei familiaris: to be in poor circumstances, parce ac duriter vitam agere; tenuiter vivere (Ter., Phorm., 1, 2, 95); vitam in egestate degere; vitam inopem colere: to make a poor supper, patella modica cenare (Hor., Ep., 1, 5, 2).

Miserable, unhappy, miser, misellus; infelix (wretched, unhappy): miserandus (pitiable): alas poor me! vae, me miserum! a poor wretch, homo misellus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for poor?: The usual Latin words for “poor” are pauper, tenuis, egēnus; also egeō, inops, mendīcus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.