mendicant •\ˈmen-di-kənt\• noun and adjective noun: a pauper who lives by begging noun: a male member of a religious order that originally relied solely on alms adjective: practicing beggary The word mendicant has appeared in three New York Times articles in the past year, including on Jan. 20 in the Sunday Book Review "This Realm, This Engla Land" by Walter Olson: The book is most engaging when not attending to matters of state. The minting of coins, the establishment of laws governing ancient forests, the maintenance of local roads, the development of cursive script all interest Ackroyd, as do the dining habits of lords and peasants and the travels of the mendicant friars who "turned English preaching into a folk art." Learn more about the word "mendicant" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.