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indigence (n.)

late 14c., from Old French indigence "indigence, need, privation" (13c.), from Latin indigentia "need, want; insatiable desire," from indigentem (nominative indigens) "in want of, needing," present participle of indigere "to need, stand in need of," from indu "in, within" (from PIE *endo-, extended form of root *en "in") + egere "be in need, want," from PIE *eg- "to lack" (source also of Old Norse ekla "want, lack," Old High German eccherode "thin, weak").

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Definitions of indigence from WordNet

indigence (n.)
a state of extreme poverty or destitution;
their indigence appalled him
Synonyms: need / penury / pauperism / pauperization
From wordnet.princeton.edu