miser

miser
miser (n.) 1540s, "miserable person, wretch," from L. miser (adj.) "unhappy, wretched, pitiable, in distress," of unknown origin. Original sense now obsolete; main modern meaning of "money-hoarding person" recorded 1560s, from presumed unhappiness of such people.
Besides general wretchedness, the Latin word connoted also "intense erotic love" (Cf. slang got it bad "deeply infatuated") and hence was a favorite word of Catullus. In Greek a miser was kyminopristes, lit. "a cumin seed splitter." In Modern Greek, he might be called hekentabelones, lit. "one who has sixty needles." The German word, filz, lit. "felt," preserves the image of the felt slippers which the miser often wore in caricatures. Lettish mantrausis "miser" is lit. "money-raker."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • miser — [ mize ] v. tr. <conjug. : 1> • 1669; de mise 1 ♦ Déposer, mettre (un enjeu). ⇒ blinder, 2. caver, jouer, parier, 2. ponter. Miser dix francs. Miser tout sur le rouge, à la roulette. 2 ♦ Absolt Miser sur un cheval, aux courses. Fig. Miser… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Miser — Mi ser (m[imac] z[ e]r), n. [L. miser wretched, miserable; cf. Gr. mi^sos hate, misei^n to hate: cf. It. & Sp. misero wretched, avaricious.] [1913 Webster] 1. A wretched person; a person afflicted by any great misfortune. [Obs.] Spenser. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • miser — mi‧ser [ˈmaɪzə ǁ ər] noun [countable] a person, organization, country etc that hates spending money: • This country is a miser when it comes to research and development spending in engineering. miserly adjective : • Teachers complain they already …   Financial and business terms

  • miser — [n] person who hoards money, possessions cheapskate*, churl, harpy*, hoarder, moneygrubber*, penny pincher*, pinchfist*, pinchpenny*, Scrooge*, stiff*, tightwad*; concepts 348,412,423 Ant. spender, spendthrift, waster, wastrel …   New thesaurus

  • miser — ► NOUN ▪ a person who hoards wealth and spends as little as possible. ORIGIN from Latin, wretched …   English terms dictionary

  • miser — [mī′zər] n. [L, wretched, unhappy, ill, worthless] 1. a greedy, stingy person who hoards money for its own sake, even at the expense of personal comfort 2. Obs. a miserable person; wretch …   English World dictionary

  • Miser — This article is about parsimonious people. For other uses, see Miser (disambiguation). Miser by Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia A miser, cheapskate, snipe snout, penny pincher, piker, scrooge, skinflint or tightwad is a person who is reluctant …   Wikipedia

  • MISER — v. tr. Faire une mise, mettre un enjeu. Miser cent francs. Il s’emploie aussi intransitivement. Sur quoi avez vous misé? En termes de Jeu, Miser sur les deux tableaux, Mettre un enjeu sur les deux tableaux. Il se dit surtout au figuré pour… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • miser — (mi zé) v. n. Terme qui se dit dans quelques provinces pour enchérir. Ne misez pas sur moi. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Mise. SUPPLÉMENT AU DICTIONNAIRE MISER. Ajoutez : 2°   Mettre au jeu, faire une mise.    Fig. Faire fond. •   L Italie a gagné l enjeu sur… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • miser — [[t]ma͟ɪzə(r)[/t]] misers N COUNT (disapproval) If you say that someone is a miser, you disapprove of them because they seem to hate spending money, and to spend as little as possible. I m married to a miser. Syn: skinflint …   English dictionary

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