Where does “poor” come from?

Poor comes from Middle English povre, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w-.

poor (English): With no or few possessions or money, particularly...

Definitions

  1. With no or few possessions or money, particularly...

Ancestry of “poor”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpovrepoor, needy; poor by choice; Afflicted by need...
2Old Frenchpovrepoor
3Latinpauperpoor
4Latinpavo-parsgetting little
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpau-smallness

Words derived from “poor

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pau-