Etymology: Origin uncertain. Probably related to mise n.² (with unexplained ending), although perhaps compare French misère misère n., for which Cotgrave (1611) gives a gloss ‘a poore drinke made of the water wherewith bee-hiues haue beene washed’.

Etymology: Origin unknown. Compare miser v.², misering n. N.E.D. (1907) gives the pronunciation as (məi·zəɹ) /ˈmʌɪzə(r)/.

Etymology: < classical Latin miser (adjective) wretched, unfortunate (also in spec. use in sense ‘wretched in one's social or financial circumstances’), (noun) a wretched person, in post-classical Latin also denoting a miser (a1347 in a British source), of unknown origin. Use as an adjective in the sense ‘miserly’ is not recorded in Latin, but may have existed; the earliest use in English is apparently as predicative adjective in this sense (later adjectival use in English shows attributive use of sense B. 2). Compare Italian misero poor, poverty-stricken (a1294), unfortunate, miserly (both 14th cent.), also as noun (14th cent.), Spanish mísero wretched (1438), miserly (1607 or earlier), also as noun (1607 or earlier); also Middle French misere unfortunate (16th cent.; perhaps a learned borrowing < Latin, although similar regional uses are probably spec. developments of misère misère n.).The β. forms are due to association with -ard suffix.

Etymology: < miser n.¹

Etymology: Apparently < miser n.³ Compare misering n. N.E.D. (1907) gives the pronunciation as (məi·zəɹ) /ˈmʌɪzə(r)/.