English
misery
Misery comes from Latin miser ‘miserable, unhappy’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *misseros.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*misserosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiser‘miserable, unhappy’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiseria
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400miserie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1578–1579misery
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*misserosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiser‘miserable, unhappy’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiseria
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400miserie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1578–1579misery
Earliest quotation: 1578–1579, Edmund Spenser, London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie: “For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make…”
Formed from miser + -y
Proto-Italic *misseros
Late Latin miser ‘wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable,…’
Middle English misser
English miser
Linked words
through Latin miser ‘miserable, unhappy’
Today it means
noun Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *misseros / misery