mendicity means the state of being a beggar; mendicancy or beggary. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “mendicity” is a great word
MENDICITY — [Noun] The state or condition of being a beggar; the practice of living by alms. From Old French mendicité, from Latin mendicitas, from mendicus ("beggar, needy"). First attested in English c. 1400. Unlike "mendacity" (which denotes a poverty of truth) or "poverty" (which is a general state of need), mendicity is the formalized enactment of dependency. It is the extended, empty palm in a crowded square, the low chant of a plea beneath a cathedral door, and the strategic placement of a hat upon the pavement—a quiet, persistent friction against the polished surface of a functioning society.
Etymology
From Old French mendicité, from Latin mendicitas.
noun
- the state of being a beggar; mendicancy or beggary