9 letters · 13 points in Scrabble
noun a state of extreme poverty or destitution
originFrom Middle English indigence, late 14th century, from Old French indigence (13th century), from Latin indigentia, from indigentem, form of indigēre (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egēre (“be in need, want”). Only relation to antonym affluence is common Latinate suffix + -ence.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0