To supplement these pie-and-beer meals, he tried to cadge food at court.
British Dictionary definitions for cadge
cadge
/kædʒ/
verb
1.
to get (food, money, etc) by sponging or begging
noun
2.
(Brit) a person who cadges
3.
(Brit, informal) on the cadge, engaged in cadging
Word Origin
C17: of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for cadge
v.
"to beg" (1812), "to get by begging" (1848), of uncertain origin, perhaps a back-formation from cadger "itinerant dealer with a pack-horse," mid-15c., which is perhaps from early 14c. cadge "to fasten, to tie," of unknown origin.