pauper

Pauper is a term used to describe a person in extreme poverty who cannot support themselves financially and relies on charitable aid or public relief. The word carries historical connotations of social welfare systems and can be neutral or pejorative depending on era and context.

The word derives from the Latin pauper, meaning poor, via Old French pauper, and entered English in the medieval period. It has long been used in legal and administrative language, but its everyday use has declined.

Under the medieval and early modern English Poor Laws, many paupers received relief from their parish, through outdoor assistance or, in some cases, residence in workhouses and other institutions. Later reforms in the 19th century, such as the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, reorganized relief and increasingly tied welfare to workhouses. The system evolved through the 19th and early 20th centuries toward broader state welfare programs.

In contemporary usage the term is often considered archaic or stigmatizing. In law, phrases such as in forma pauperis denote the right to proceed in court without paying costs, reflecting a continued, albeit narrower, official use of the concept. In social policy, speakers generally prefer neutral terms like low-income or person experiencing poverty.

Today, pauper is mainly found in historical writing or formal legal contexts, and modern discussions of poverty focus on welfare programs, economic policy, and social justice.