Pitiably lacking money (4)
I believe the answer is:
poor
'lacking money' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for poor that I've seen before include "Of low standard" , "Shoddy" , "Having little money and few possessions" , "hopeless" , "Not good, wealthy" .)