LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

miser

miser (feminine misera, neuter miserum, comparative miserior, superlative miserrimus, adverb miserē or miseriter)
Classical[ˈmɪ.sɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈmiː.s̬er]
№ 137 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectivepoor, wretched, pitiful
    Miser Catulle, dēsinās ineptīrePoor Catullus, stop with the nonsenseca. 54 BC, Catullus. Catullus 8
    29 bc. Vergil. Aeneid, Book Ibeing not unacquainted with woe, I learn to help the unfortunate
  2. adjectivemiserable, unhappy
    PAMPHILUS: Ehodum, bone vir, quid ais? Vidēn mē cōnsiliīs tuīs / miserum impedītum esse? PAMPHILUS: Hey there, good fellow, what are you saying? Can’t you see how your advice has got me miserably entangled? (“miserum” functions adverbially here; vidēn = vidēsne: vidēs plus the interrogative particle -ne.)166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 616–617
  3. adjectiveworthless, null
  4. adjectivetragic, unfortunate
  5. adjectivesick
  6. adjectivetormenting

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

nōn fēlīx, plēnus dolōris.
miser -era -erum — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativein -er
miser, misellus		misera
misella		miserum
misellum
genitivemiserī
misellī		miserae
misellae		miserī
misellī
dativemiserō
misellō		miserae
misellae		miserō
misellō
accusativemiserum
misellum		miseram
misellam		miserum
misellum
ablativemiserō
misellō		miserā
misellā		miserō
misellō
vocativemiser
miselle		misera
misella		miserum
misellum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativemiserī
misellī		miserae
misellae		misera
misella
genitivemiserōrum
misellōrum		miserārum
misellārum		miserōrum
misellōrum
dativemiserīs
misellīs		miserīs
misellīs		miserīs
misellīs
accusativemiserōs
misellōs		miserās
misellās		misera
misella
ablativemiserīs
misellīs		miserīs
misellīs		miserīs
misellīs
vocativemiserī
misellī		miserae
misellae		misera
misella

mĭser, ĕra, ĕrum, adj. prob. Sanscr. root mi-; cf. minuo; akin to Gr. μῖσος; Lat. maestus, maereo,
I. wretched, unfortunate, miserable, pitiable, lamentable, etc. (cf.: infelix, calamitosus).
1. Of persons: nihil est tam miserabile, quam ex beato miser, Cic. Part. Or. 17, 57: homo miser, et infortunatus, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 20: miser atque infelix, Cic. Quint. 30, 94: urgeris multis miser undique curis, Lucr. 3, 1051: o multo miserior Dolabella, quam ille, quem tu miserrimum esse voluisti, Cic. Phil. 11, 4, 8: miser, infelix, aerumnosus, id. Par. 2, 1, 16: miserrimum habere aliquem, to torment, id. Fam. 14, 7, 1: miserrimus Fui fugitando, have exhausted myself with running, am completely tired out, Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 7.—With gen.: miseros ambitionis, Plin. Pan. 58, 5.—
2. Of things, afflicting, sad, wretched, melancholy: miserā ambitione laborare, Hor. S. 1, 4, 26: misera orbitas, Cic. Fin. 5, 28, 84: misera et calamitosa res, id. Rosc. Am. 28, 77.—
3. Sick, ill, indisposed, etc.: quo morbo misera sum, suffer, Plaut. Truc. 2, 6, 39: homini misero non invideo medicinam, Petr. 129; cf.: quid illam miseram animi excrucias? Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 76: homo animo suo miser, id. Truc. 2, 7, 36: miserum esse ex animo, to be wretched in mind, sick at heart, id. Ep. 4, 1, 1.—
4. Violent, excessive, extravagant: amor, Verg. A. 5, 655: cultus miser, with regard to dress, Hor. S. 2, 2, 66.—
5. Bad, vile, poor, worthless: carmen, Verg. E. 3, 27: remedium, Cels. 5, 26, 34.—With gen.: morum, Stat. Th. 4, 403: hominem perditum miserumque, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 28.—
6. As an exclamation, inserted in the midst of a sentence: ossa atque pellis sum, misera, macritudine, Plaut. Capt. 1, 2, 32: miserum! (parenthetically) i. e. what a misfortune! how sad! tum pendere poenas Cecropidae jussi (miserum!) septena quotannis Corpora, Verg. A. 6, 21.—As subst.: mĭsĕ-rum, i, n., a wretched thing, wretchedness: bonum valetudo, miserum morbus, Cic. Fin. 5, 28, 84 MSS. dub. (Madv. and B. and K. miser).—Hence, adv., in two forms.
1. mĭsĕrē, wretchedly, miserably; desperately, vehemently, excessively, urgently (class.): est misere scriptum, Pseudole! Ps. O miserrime, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 72: vivere, Cic. Fin. 3, 15, 501: misere amare, Plaut. Mil. 4, 6, 32: deperire, id. Cist. 1, 2, 12: invidere, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 22: orare aliquid, id. Heaut. 2, 3, 124: discedere quaerens, Hor. S. 1, 9, 8; cf.: misere cupis abire, id. ib. 1, 9, 14: ut miserius a vobis recipiatur quam ab illo capta est, Liv. 34, 24, 2: misere miser, Plaut. Cist. 4, 2, 21: misere male, id. Bacch. 4, 9, 10.—
2. mĭsĕrĭter, wretchedly, lamentably, sadly (ante-class.; poet.): corrumpi, Laber. ap. Non. 517, 2: alloqui, Cat. 63, 49; Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 1010 P. (Vahl. Enn. p. 180, n. 40).

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mh₂isros?
  2. Proto-Italic*misseros
  3. Latinmiser

From Proto-Italic *misseros, of unknown origin. Possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *mh₂isros (“complaining, emotional about”), the same root of Latin maereō, Tocharian B msär (“difficult”), and Ancient Greek μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”).

Borrowings
  • Catalanmíser
  • Englishmiser
  • Portuguesemísero
  • Romanianmizer
  • Spanishmísero
  • Albanianmjerë
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianmeser
  • Romanianmeaser
Italo-Romance
  • Italianmisero
  • Sicilianmiseru
  • Sicilianmisiru
Gallo-Romance
  • Old Frenchmezre
Ibero-Romance
  • Asturianmísere

Quick answers

What does miser mean in Latin?
miser, a adjective, means “poor, wretched, pitiful; miserable, unhappy; worthless, null”.
How do you pronounce miser?
In classical Latin, [ˈmɪ.sɛr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmiː.s̬er].
Where does miser come from?
Proto-Indo-European *mh₂isros? → Proto-Italic *misseros → Latin miser.