miser

noun — 3 senses

miser

noun

/ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/

Etymology From Middle English misser, from Late Latin miser (“wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable, sick, ill, bad, worthless, etc.”).

1

Derogatory A person who hoards money rather than spending it; one who is cheap or extremely parsimonious.

  • Scrooge was a typical miser: spending nothing he could save, nor enjoying his wealth.
  • […] foꝛ it was many times notoꝛious vnto al mẽ, yͭ he did eate in his houſe no other fleſh by the ſpace of iii. dayes, but on Hare, whiche was ſent him. He was ſuch a miſer to ſpend, ⁊ ſo deſirous to hooꝛd and lay vp money, yͭ had it not béene foꝛ ſome dayes of ſacrifices, oꝛ his bidden gueſts, not a moꝛsel of fleſh was eaten in his houſe: but only fed of his pꝛouiſion from his garden.1577, Antonio de Guevara, translated by Edward Hellowes, A Chronicle, Conteyning the Liues of Tenne Emperours of Rome […] , London: Ralph Newbery, page 257:
2

Obsolete A person who is wretched or despicable; a wretch.

  • […] a poore virgin ſir, an il-fauor’d thing ſir, but mine owne, a poore humour of mine ſir, to take that that no man elſe will: rich honeſtie dwels like a miſer ſir, in a poore houſe, as your Pearle in your foule oyſter.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], page 206, column 1:
3

A kind of earth auger, typically large-bored and often hand-operated.

Synonyms
35 termscarl, cheapass, cheapie, cheapskate, cheapo, churl, clutchfist, el cheapo, last of the big spenders, magpie, miser, moneygrubber, muckworm, nickel nurser, nig, niggard, nigon, nipcheese, nipfarthing, penny-father, penny pincher, pickpenny, piker, pinch-commons, pinch-gut, pincher, pinchfist, pinchpenny, scrimp, scrooge, snudge, squirrel, skinflint, tight-arse, tightwad
Antonyms
spendthrift
Derived terms
miserdom, miserhood, miserism, miserly
Related terms
miserable, misery, misère, stingy, greedy

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.