poorness

POOR'NESS, noun Destitution of property; indigence; poverty; want; as the poorness of the exchequer. No less I hate him than the gates of hell, That poorness can force an untruth to tell. [In this sense, we generally use poverty.] 1. Meanness; lowness; want of dignity; as the poorness of language. 2. Want of spirit; as poorness and degeneracy of spirit. 3. Barrenness; sterility; as the poorness of land or soil. 4. Unproductiveness; want of the metallic substance; as the poorness of ore. 5. Smallness or bad quality; as the poorness of crops or of grain. 6. Want of value or importance; as the poorness of a plea. 7. Want of good qualities, or the proper qualities which constitute a thing good in its kind; as the poorness of a ship or of cloth. 8. Narrowness; barrenness; want of capacity. Poorness of spirit, in a theological sense, true humility or contrition of heart on account of sin.