What is the meaning of poverty?

Linguistically, poverty (al-faqr) means need. It is derived from the breaking of the back (infaqar az-zahr), meaning the breaking of its vertebrae (faqarah). It is as if the poor person (al-faqir) has a broken back due to the intensity of their need. It has also been said that the poor person is one who has enough to eat, or some of what sustains them. And it has been said that the poor person is one who has just enough to live on.