Poor in Spirit
/pʊər ɪn ˈspɪrɪt/noun
A phrase describing humility, spiritual dependence, or recognition of one’s need for divine help.
Did you know?The phrase is best known from Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3, where spiritual poverty is presented not as failure but as a state linked to the kingdom of heaven.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pau-
“Small or few; the ancestral root behind words connected with poverty and scarcity.”
Classical Latin
Latin
pauper
“Poor; possessing little, formed from roots meaning roughly “little” and “producing.””
Old French
Old French
povre
“Poor, needy, or lacking material resources.”
Old English
Old English
ēastan / spiritus
“The phrase’s conceptual background combines poverty or humility with the Christian idea of spirit, translated through Latin spiritus, “breath, soul, or spirit.””
16th Century
English
poor in spirit
“A biblical English rendering of the Beatitude in Matthew 5:3, referring to the humble or spiritually dependent.”
Modern English
English
poor in spirit
“A religious expression for humility, spiritual need, or freedom from pride.”