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.