misery
noun
- state of extreme poverty, sadness or distress
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/ / /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/
name
Etymology: Blend of Missouri + misery.
- Derogatory name for Missouri: a state of the United States.
“First, the young lady whom you spoke as becoming [a] mistress of the establishment would most likely (if she could become as such) be brought into a state of misery, instead of being brought from the state of misery, (or Missouri), [...]”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria.
- Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
“Ever since his wife left him you can see the misery on his face.”
“For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.”
- A bodily ache or pain.
“[...] and I had a misery in my left breast and shoulder. I was hurt, but knew not how or how much.”
- Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
- poverty.
“The Widdow that hath but a pan of braſſe, […] Muſt pay her Landlord many a groat, Or twil be puld out of her throat: […] The rich haue all, the poore liue in miſerie: […]”
- greed; avarice.