necessitous

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

necessitous
    adj 1: poor enough to need help from others [syn: {destitute},
           {impoverished}, {indigent}, {necessitous}, {needy},
           {poverty-stricken}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Necessitous \Ne*ces"si*tous\, a. [Cf. F. n['e]cessiteux.]
   1. Very needy or indigent; pressed with poverty.
      [1913 Webster]

            Necessitous heirs and penurious parents.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Narrow; destitute; pinching; pinched; as, necessitous
      circumstances.
      [1913 Webster] -- {Ne*ces"si*tous*ly}, adv. --
      {Ne*ces"si*tous*ness}, n.
      [1913 Webster]