destitution
English edit
Etymology edit
From Old French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiō (“abandoning”), from dēstituō.
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /dɛstɪˈtuːʃən/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɛstɪˈtjuːʃən/, /dɛstɪˈtʃuːʃən/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun edit
destitution (countable and uncountable, plural destitutions)
- (obsolete) The action of deserting or abandoning.
- (now rare) Discharge from office; dismissal.
- The condition of lacking something.
- 1906, “Mark Twain”, in The Bible According to Mark Twain, published 1996, page 330:
- He requires of his fellow man obedience to a very creditable code of morals, but he observes without shame or disapproval his God's utter destitution of morals.
- An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.
- 2009 August 4, Rahila Gupta, The Guardian:
- Destitution forces many asylum seekers to end up working for extremely low wages in catering, cleaning and construction, for example, without any protection against unscrupulous employers.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
condition of lacking something
extreme state of poverty
|
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin dēstitūtiōnem.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
destitution f (plural destitutions)
- discharge, dismissal
- deposition (of a politician etc.)
Further reading edit
- “destitution”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.