Born and died in penury (4)
I believe the answer is:
need
'penury' is the definition.
('need' can be a synonym of 'penury')
'born and died' is the wordplay.
'born' becomes 'nee' (I've seen this before).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'died' becomes 'd'.
'nee'+'d'='NEED'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for need that I've seen before include "state requiring relief" , "''A friend in .... is a friend indeed''" , "Exigency" , "What's lacking" , "Lack or require" .)