Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

mĭser, ĕra, ĕrum, adj. [prob. Sanscr. root mi-; cf. minuo; akin to Gr. μῖσος; Lat. maestus, maereo], wretched, unfortunate, miserable, pitiable, lamentable, etc. (cf.: infelix, calamitosus).

    1. 1. Of persons: nihil est tam miserabile, quam ex beato miser, Cic. Part. Or. 17, 57: homo miser, et infortunatus, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 20: miser atque infelix, Cic. Quint. 30, 94: urgeris multis miser undique curis, Lucr. 3, 1051: o multo miserior Dolabella, quam ille, quem tu miserrimum esse voluisti, Cic. Phil. 11, 4, 8: miser, infelix, aerumnosus, id. Par. 2, 1, 16: miserrimum habere aliquem, to torment, id. Fam. 14, 7, 1: miserrimus Fui fugitando, have exhausted myself with running, am completely tired out, Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 7.
      With gen.: miseros ambitionis, Plin. Pan. 58, 5.
    2. 2. Of things, afflicting, sad, wretched, melancholy: miserā ambitione laborare, Hor. S. 1, 4, 26: misera orbitas, Cic. Fin. 5, 28, 84: misera et calamitosa res, id. Rosc. Am. 28, 77.
    3. 3. Sick, ill, indisposed, etc.: quo morbo misera sum, suffer, Plaut. Truc. 2, 6, 39: homini misero non invideo medicinam, Petr. 129; cf.: quid illam miseram animi excrucias? Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 76: homo animo suo miser, id. Truc. 2, 7, 36: miserum esse ex animo, to be wretched in mind, sick at heart, id. Ep. 4, 1, 1.
    4. 4. Violent, excessive, extravagant: amor, Verg. A. 5, 655: cultus miser, with regard to dress, Hor. S. 2, 2, 66.
    5. 5. Bad, vile, poor, worthless: carmen, Verg. E. 3, 27: remedium, Cels. 5, 26, 34.
      With gen.: morum, Stat. Th. 4, 403: hominem perditum miserumque, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 28.
    6. 6. As an exclamation, inserted in the midst of a sentence: ossa atque pellis sum, misera, macritudine, Plaut. Capt. 1, 2, 32: miserum! (parenthetically) i. e. what a misfortune! how sad! tum pendere poenas Cecropidae jussi (miserum!) septena quotannis Corpora, Verg. A. 6, 21.
      As subst.: mĭsĕ-rum, i, n., a wretched thing, wretchedness: bonum valetudo, miserum morbus, Cic. Fin. 5, 28, 84 MSS. dub. (Madv. and B. and K. miser).
      Hence, adv., in two forms.
    1. 1. mĭsĕrē, wretchedly, miserably; desperately, vehemently, excessively, urgently (class.): est misere scriptum, Pseudole! Ps. O miserrime, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 72: vivere, Cic. Fin. 3, 15, 501: misere amare, Plaut. Mil. 4, 6, 32: deperire, id. Cist. 1, 2, 12: invidere, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 22: orare aliquid, id. Heaut. 2, 3, 124: discedere quaerens, Hor. S. 1, 9, 8; cf.: misere cupis abire, id. ib. 1, 9, 14: ut miserius a vobis recipiatur quam ab illo capta est, Liv. 34, 24, 2: misere miser, Plaut. Cist. 4, 2, 21: misere male, id. Bacch. 4, 9, 10.
    2. 2. mĭsĕrĭter, wretchedly, lamentably, sadly (ante-class.; poet.): corrumpi, Laber. ap. Non. 517, 2: alloqui, Cat. 63, 49; Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 1010 P. (Vahl. Enn. p. 180, n. 40).