- 1貧困的、赤貧的（較正式；法律、醫院會用。日常多說「很窮」）
Indigent means very poor — so poor that you may not be able to pay for a lawyer, a doctor, or a place to sleep. It is not the everyday word. Friends say poor or broke; indigent turns up in law, hospitals, and older writing. You will hear “indigent patients” or “indigent defendants”: people the system must still help because they have no money. As a noun, an indigent means a very poor person, but that use feels cold and a bit old; many people now prefer a person living in poverty. Though actually, it is not just “not rich.” A student with no cash this week is not indigent. The word sits at the bottom: real need, not a tight month.
組成From Latin indigēns, from indigeō (“to need”): indu (“in, within”) + egeō (“to be in need”). Same story for the noun.
同家族的字
- indigencethe noun for the state of being this poor
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
indigentadj/ˈɪndɪd͡ʒənt/
- 1
Poor; destitute; in need.
- Many of the indigent children are so badly provided for by their parents, with both food and raiment, that they cannot attend school regularly; […]
- And were I not a thing for you and me To execrate in anguish, you would be As indigent a stranger to surprise, I fear, as I was once, and as unwise.
- 2
archaicUtterly lacking or in need of something specified.
- Again some Bodies dissolve both in Fire and Water, as Gums; &c. And these are such, as have both Plenty of Spirit; and their tangible Parts indigent of Moisture: the former promotes the Dilatation of the Spirits by the Fire and the latter stimulates the Parts to receive the Liquor.
- Will Providence guard us? How do I ſee that our Sex is naturally Indigent of Protection?—I hope it is in Fate to crown our Loves; for 'tis only in the Protection of Men of Honour, that we are naturally truly Safe […]
indigentnoun/ˈɪndɪd͡ʒənt/
- 1
A person in need, or in poverty.
- I liked the streets best, so I walked and stared, and slept in a Salvation Army hostel for indigents. But I was no indigent; I was rich in feeling, and that was a luxury I had rarely known.
- The influx of indigents overwhelmed the city's meagre social services and affordable accommodation.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。