- impoverish
- impoverish (v.) early 15c., empoverischen, from O.Fr. empoveriss-, stem of empoverir, from em- + povre "poor" (see POOR (Cf. poor)). Related: Impoverished; impoverishing.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
impoverish
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Impoverish — Im*pov er*ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Impoverished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Impoverishing}.] [OF. empovrir; pref. em (L. in) + povre poor, F. pauvre; cf. OF. apovrir, F. appauvrir, where the prefix is a , L. ad. Cf. {Empoverish}, and see {Poor}, and {… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
impoverish — index deplete, depreciate, deprive, despoil, plunder, spend Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
impoverish — bankrupt, exhaust, *deplete, drain Antonyms: enrich Contrasted words: enhance, heighten, intensify: augment, *increase … New Dictionary of Synonyms
impoverish — ► VERB 1) make poor. 2) exhaust the strength or natural fertility of. DERIVATIVES impoverishment noun. ORIGIN Old French empoverir, from povre poor … English terms dictionary
impoverish — [im päv′ər ish] vt. [ME empoverishen < extended stem of OFr empovrir < em (< L in , in) + povre < L pauper, POOR] 1. to make poor; reduce to poverty 2. to deprive of strength, resources, etc. impoverishment n … English World dictionary
impoverish — UK [ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃ] / US [ɪmˈpɑv(ə)rɪʃ] verb [transitive] Word forms impoverish : present tense I/you/we/they impoverish he/she/it impoverishes present participle impoverishing past tense impoverished past participle impoverished 1) to make a person… … English dictionary
impoverish — im|pov|e|rish [ımˈpɔvərıʃ US ımˈpa: ] v [T] [Date: 1400 1500; : Old French; Origin: empovrir, from povre poor ] 1.) to make someone very poor ▪ Falling coffee prices have impoverished many Third World economies. ▪ families impoverished by debt… … Dictionary of contemporary English
impoverish — [[t]ɪmpɒ̱vərɪʃ[/t]] impoverishes, impoverishing, impoverished 1) VERB Something that impoverishes a person or a country makes them poor. [V n] We need to reduce the burden of taxes that impoverish the economy. [V ed] ...a society impoverished by… … English dictionary
impoverish — /ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃ / (say im povuhrish), / vrɪʃ/ (say vrish) verb (t) 1. to reduce to poverty: a country impoverished by war. 2. to make poor in quality, productiveness, etc.; exhaust the strength or richness of: to impoverish the soil. Also, Obsolete,… …
impoverish — transitive verb Etymology: Middle English enpoverisshen, from Anglo French empoveriss , stem of empoverir, from en + povre poor more at poor Date: 15th century 1. to make poor 2. to deprive of strength, richness, or fertility by depleting or… … New Collegiate Dictionary
