miser

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

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.

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.

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.

Violent, excessive, extravagant:

amor,

Verg. A. 5, 655:

cultus miser,

with regard to dress, Hor. S. 2, 2, 66.—

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.

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.

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.

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).