Penury
/ˈpɛnjʊəri/noun
Extreme poverty or destitution.
Did you know?Penury ultimately traces back to Latin penus, meaning provisions or food supplies, so the word carries the ancient terror of running out of what keeps you alive.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peh₂-
“to feed, pasture, protect”
Latin
Latin
penus
“provisions, food supplies”
Latin
Latin
penuria
“scarcity, lack, famine”
Old French
Old French
penurie
“want, scarcity, poverty”
Middle English
English
penurie
“poverty, destitution”
Modern English
English
penury
“extreme poverty”
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