beggar description

English

Etymology

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1607 in "Antony and Cleopatra," act 2, scene 2:

For her own person,

It beggared all description: she did lie

In her pavilion—cloth-of-gold, of tissue—

O'erpicturing that Venus where we see

The fancy outwork nature.

Verb

beggar description (third-person singular simple present beggars description, present participle beggaring description, simple past and past participle beggared description)

1. Synonym of beggar belief

Further reading

• “beggar belief description”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “beggar belief description” (US) / “beggar belief description” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “beggar description belief” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “beggar belief beggar description”, in Collins English Dictionary.