mendicante

beggar

noun men-dee-KAHN-teh Rare

Origin: Latin mendicans (begging), from mendicus (beggar)

Also means

mendicant

Usage Note

Mendicante can be masculine or feminine — il mendicante, la mendicante — since the form does not change. In a religious context it refers to a mendicant friar (e.g. Franciscans or Dominicans), who lived by begging. The seed gender 'f' reflects one valid usage, but the noun is epicene.

Examples

"Un mendicante chiedeva l'elemosina fuori dalla chiesa."

Natural Translation

A beggar was asking for alms outside the church.

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