men·di·cant / ˈmendikənt/ • adj. given to begging. ∎  of or denoting one of the religious orders that originally relied solely on alms: a mendicant friar.• n. a beggar. ∎  a member of a mendicant order.DERIVATIVES: men·di·can·cy / -kənsē/ n.

mendicant a member of a Christian religious order originally relying solely on alms, a mendicant friar. The most important of these orders in the Western Church (often referred to as the Four Orders) were the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinian Hermits. Recorded from later Middle English, the term comes from Latin mendicant- ‘begging’, from the verb mendicare, from mendicus ‘beggar’, from mendum ‘deficiency’.

From the early 17th century, the term was extended to Buddhists and members of other religions who lived a wandering life, relying upon alms.

mendicant adj. begging XVI; sb. beggar XV. — pp. of L. mendīcāre beg, f. mendīcus beggar, f. mendum fault, blemish; see -ANT.