beggestere

Middle English

Etymology

From beggen +‎ -estere.

Noun

beggestere (plural beggesteres)

1. A beggar, especially a female.
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Prologues”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC, lines 240-242:

     He knew the tavernes wel in every toun
     And everich hostiler and tappestere
     Bet than a lazar or a beggestere;

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• “beggestere”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “beggestere, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.