Word of the Day

: May 24, 2008

penury

noun PEN-yuh-ree

What It Means

1 : a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty

2 : extreme frugality

penury in Context

As a young man Uncle Leonard endured great penury, and though he later became a successful business owner, he never forgot the hardships of his youth.

Did You Know?

The exact meaning of "penury" (from Latin "penuria," meaning "want") can vary a bit from context to context. It sometimes has had a broad sense of "lack" or "scarcity," as when one character remarks on another's "penury of conversation" in Jane Austen's Emma. It can also mean "frugality," as in Edith Wharton's description of an excessively thrifty hostess in The Age of Innocence: "Her relatives considered that the penury of her table discredited the Mingott name, which had always been associated with good living." The most common sense of "penury," however, is simply "poverty," as in Shakespeare's As You Like It: "Shall I keep your hogs, and eat husks with them? What prodigal portion have I spent that I should come to such penury?"