beggar
beg·gar/ˈbɛɡɚ/noun, verb
beggar is spelled B-E-G-G-A-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (beg·gar). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, beggar means “A person who begs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of beggar is beggars.
How many letters and syllables are in beggar?
| Letters | 6: B-E-G-G-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: beg·gar |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is beggar?
Beggar appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce beggar?
- US /ˈbɛɡɚ/
- UK /ˈbɛɡə/
Beggar has 2 syllables, split beg·gar in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-beggar.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with beggar?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as beggar from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɡəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bagger.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of beggar
- beggars plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- beggaring participle, present
- beggared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does beggar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who begs.
- 2
A person suffering from extreme poverty.
- 3
colloquialA mean or wretched person; a scoundrel.
What does that silly beggar think he's doing?
- 4
UKA minced oath for bugger.
- 5
the last placer in Tycoon
verb
- 1
To make a beggar of someone; impoverish.
- 2
To exhaust the resources of; to outdo or go beyond.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Beggar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person who begs:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gueux, gueuse, mendiant, mendiante, quêteux, quêteuse |
| German | Bettler, Bettlerin, Bettelmann, Bettelfrau, Bettelweib, Bettelbruder |
| Portuguese | mendigo, mendiga, pedinte |
| Spanish | mendigo, mendiga, pordiosero, mendicante, limosnero, gallofero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does beggar come from?
From Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar (“beggar”), from Middle English beggen (“to beg”), equivalent to beg + -ar. Alternative etymology derives Middle English beggere, beggare, beggar from Old French begart, originally a member of the Beghards, a lay brotherhood of mendicants in the Low Countries, from Middle Dutch beggaert (“mendicant”), with pejorative suffix (see -ard); the order is said to be named after the priest Lambert le Bègue of Liège (French for “Lambert the Stammerer”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).