Question

penury noun 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?" 1 : a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty2 : extreme frugality

Accepted Answer

May 24, 2008 PEN-yuh-ree 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.

Word	penury
Date	May 24, 2008
Type	noun
Syllables	PEN-yuh-ree
Etymology	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?"
Examples	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.
Definition	1 : a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty 2 : extreme frugality

I Penury Meaning Sense Noun Pen Yuh Ree Exact Latin