miserable 
3. Manifesting misery; indicative of want or 
suffering; shocking; pitiable: as, a miserable 
hut ; to be covered with miserable rags ; miser- 
able looks. 4. Of wretched character or qual- 
ity; without value or merit; very poor; mean; 
worthless : as, a miserable soil ; a miserable per- 
former or performance ; a miserable subterfuge. 
Miserable comforters are ye all. Job xvi. 2. 
It was miserable economy, indeed, to grudge a reward 
of a few thousands to one who had made the State richer 
by millions. Mamulay. Hist. Eng., xxiii. 
6. Covetous; miserly; niggardly. [Obsolete 
or Scotch.] 
The liberal-hearted man is, by the opinion of the prodi- 
gal, miserable; and by the judgment of the miserable, lav- 
ish. Hooker. 
Which the king thankfully receiving, noting his misera- 
ble nature, and that his gift rather did proceed from hope 
of gain than good will. 
Pasquil's Jests, etc. (1604). (Nares.) 
Our language, by a peculiar significance of dialect, calls 
the covetous man the miserable man. 
South, Works, VIII. vi. 
6f. Compassionate; merciful; commiserating. 
[Bare.] 
My son 's in ... gaol, . . . and outstep [unless] the king 
be miserable, hees like to totter. 
Heywood, King Edward IV. (Plays, I. 72, reprint, 1874). 
=Syn. 1. Distressed, forlorn, disconsolate, afflicted, pitia- 
ble. See affliction. 
II. . An unfortunate, unhappy creature; a 
wretch. 
Tis a cruel journey to send a few miserables. 
Sterne, Sentimental Journey, p. 36. 
miserableness (miz'e-ra-bl-nes), n. 1. The 
state or quality of being miserable; misery; 
wretchedness. 2f. Miserliness; niggardliness. 
MiseraUeness 
Hath brought in distress. 
Skelton, Why Come ye not to Court? 
miserably (miz'e-ra-bli), adv. In a miserable 
manner; calamitously; pitiably; deplorably; 
very poorly or meanly ; wretchedly. 
He will miserably destroy those wicked men. 
Mat xxi. 41. 
Many men were lifted vp [by a tempest in the harbor of 
Domingo] and carried in the aire many bow-shots, some 
being thereby miserably bruised. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 910. 
Where you shall be so miserably entertained. 
Sir P. Sidney. 
The younger clerks were . . . miserably paid. 
Macaulay, Lord Olive. 
miserationt (miz-e-ra'shon), n. [= F. misera- 
tion = Sp. miseracion = Pg. miseraq&o = It. 
miserazione, < L. miseratio(n-), compassion, < 
miserari, pp. miseratus, pity: see miserable.'] 
Commiseration; pity. 
God of his migeration 
Send better reformacion. 
Skelton, Why Come ye not to Court? 
Misereatur (miz"e-re-a'ter), n. [So called be- 
cause beginning with the words "Misereatur 
vestri omnipotens Deus" ('Almighty God have 
mercy upon you') : L. misereatur, 3d pers. sing, 
pres. subj. of misereri, pity: see miserere.] In 
the Eoman Catholic and other Latin liturgies, 
the first part of the public form of absolution, 
following the Confiteor in the mass. It is also 
used at prime and complin, and, with the sin- 
gular pronoun (tui), in sacramental absolution. 
miserectt (mis-e-rekV), v. t. [< mis- 1 + erect.] 
To erect wrongly; erect with a wrong object. 
Cause those miserected altars to be beaten down to the 
ground. Bp. Hall, Hard Texts, Amos iii. 15. 
miserere (miz-e-re're), n. [So called because be- 
ginning with tne words, taken from the Vulgate 
version of the 51st Psalm, "Miserere mei, Do- 
mine " ( ' Pity me, O Lord ') : L. miserere, 2d pers. 
sing. impv. of misereri, pity, < miser, wretched : 
see miser 1 .] 1 . The 51st Psalm (50th in the Vul- 
gate and Douay versions): so called from its first 
word. In the liturgies of the Roman Catholic and Greek 
churches it is used in the communion of the sick, the 
burial service, and on other like occasions. Hence (a) 
The service of which the miserere forms a part. (i>) A 
musical setting of this psalm. The most celebrated ex- 
ample is the Miserere of Allegri, written about 1635, which 
forms a part of the Tenebrte service sung in Holy Week at 
the Sistine Chapel in Borne. In the rendering of this 
miserere so much of care, skill, and striking surroundings 
combine as to give it a unique effectiveness as a specimen 
of sacred music, (c) Any sacred musical composition of a 
penitential character, (a) A lamentation. 
No more ay-mees and misereres, Tranio. 
Fletcher, Tamer Tamed, iii. 3. 
2. A hinged seat in a church stall, made to turn 
up, and bearing on its under side a bracket 
capable of affording some support to one who, 
in standing, leans against it. The under side of the 
seat, in medieval and Renaissance examples, is usually 
3790 
Miserere, from All-Souls College, Oxford. 
a, miserere seat turned back, showing carving; b, seat let down. 
ornamentally carved, often with grotesques or caricatures. 
Also called misericordia, misericorde, misericord. See stall. 
We are still sitting here in this Miserere. 
Longfellow, Hyperion, iv. 1. 
Miserere day, Ash Wednesday. Lee, Glossary. Mise- 
rere week, the first week in Lent. Lee, Glossary. 
misericorde, misericord (miz"e-ri-k6rd'), . 
[< ME. misericorde, < OF. misericorde, mercy, 
pity, also a dagger so called, F. misericorde 
= Sp. Pg. It. misericordia, < L. misericordia, 
mercy, < misericors, tender-hearted, pitiful, 
merciful, < miserere, pity, + cor (cord-) = E. 
heart: see miser 1 and core 1 .] 1. Merciful dis- 
position ; forgiving pity or kindness. [Obsolete 
or archaic.] 
Now shul ye understonde that the releevynge of avarice 
is misericorde and pitee largely taken. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
Misericord and Justice both disdain them. 
Longfellow, tr. of Dante's Inferno, iii. 50. 
2. A dagger used by a knight to put a wound- 
ed man out of his misery (to give the coup de 
grdce). Against the complete 
armor of the knight the weapon 
would have no effect, except in 
the case of a fallen enemy, the 
joints of whose armor might be 
found and penetrated. 
The long sword with cross- 
guard and the short dagger or 
misericorde were now [1410] in 
fashion. Encyc. Brit., II. 556. 
3. Same as miserere, 2. 
The misericords, 
or hinged seats, 
are decorated with 
very interesting 
carved subjects, 
three on each. 
The Academy, No. 
[890, p. 364. 
miserliness 
(mi'zer-li-nes), 
n. The state or 
quality of be- 
ing n miser or 
of miserly dis- 
position or hab- 
its; avaricious- 
ness ; niggard- 
liness; penuri- 
ousness. 
miserly (mi'- 
Zer-li ), a. [< Misericorde. isth century. 
miter 1 -f- -ly 1 1 -4, the dagger ; S, profile of hilt ; C, sec- 
T ., , J J tion of blade ; A scabbard. 
Like a miser ; 
penurious; sordid; niggardly; parsimonious: 
as, a miserly person, or a person of miserly hab- 
its. = Syn. Parsimonious, Niggardly, etc. See penurious. 
mise-rollt (miz'rol), n. An official account or 
record in the exchequer of raise-moneys. 
misery (miz'e-ri), n.; pi. miseries (-riz). [< ME. 
miserie, < OF. miserie, misere, F. misere = Sp. 
Pg. It. miseria, < L. miseria, wretchedness, < 
miser, wretched: see miser 1 .] 1. A state of 
grievous affliction or unhappiness ; mental or 
physical suffering; wretchedness. 
His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 
Judges x. 16. 
2. Any afflictive or depressed condition; want 
of the means of livelihood ; destitution: as, the 
burning of the factory caused much mixer y 
among the poor. 
In Naples misery laughs and sings, and plays the Pan- 
dean pipes, and enjoys itself. 
T. B. Aldrich, Ponkapog to Pesth, p. 138. 
3. A seated pain or ache; an acute local ail- 
ment: as, to have a misery in the teeth, or a 
iiii.ieri/ in the side or back. [Prov. Eng. and 
U.S.] 
Mrs. Johns . . . talked about her husband, "and a mis- 
ery in his side, . . . and how he felt it a-comin' on nigh on 
ter a week ago." M. A T . Murfree, The Atlantic, XLI. 677. 
misfeasor 
4. That which makes miserable ; a cause or 
source of affliction ; misfortune ; calamity : gen- 
erally in the plural. 
Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon 
you. Jas. v. 1. 
I will not wish ye half my miseries. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., iii. 1. 108. 
Bent are they less with time than miseries. 
W. Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 4. 
5. Miserliness; penuriousness. [Obsolete or 
Scotch.] 
But Brutus, skimmm this misery and nigardliness [that 
of Octavius Cfesar], gaue vnto euery band a number of 
weathers to sacrifice, and fifty silver Drachmas to euery 
souldier. North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 1071. 
= Syn. Affliction, Grief, Sorrow, etc. See affliction. 
miseset, . See misease. 
misesteem (mis-es-tem'), n. [< mis- 1 + esteem.] 
Lack of esteem ; disrespect. 
misestimate (mis-es'ti-mat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
misestimated, ppr. misestimating. [< mis- 1 + es- 
timate.] To estimate erroneously. J.S.Mill, 
Logic, VI. viii. $ 2. 
misexpenset (mis-eks-pens'), . [< mis- 1 + 
expense,] Foolish expenditure. 
O wretched end of idle vanity, 
Of misexpence and prodigality. 
The Beggar's Ape (c. 1607). (Nares. ) 
misexpound (mis-eks-pound'), * : - 1- [< mis- 1 + 
expound.] To expound erroneously. Hooker, 
Eccles. Polity, vi. 6. 
misexpression (mis-eks-presh'on), . [< mis- 1 
+ expression.] Wrong or improper expression. 
Baxter. 
misfaitt, n. [ME., < OF. mesfait, mesfaite, mis- 
deed, mishap, < mesfaire, misdo, do harm, < mes- 
+ faire, do: see mis- 2 wad fait 1 , feat 1 , n.] Mis- 
hap; misfortune. 
"I haue wonder of the," quod I, "that witty art holden, 
Why thow ne suwest man and his make that no mysfait 
hemfolwe." Piers Plowman (B), xi. 866. 
misfaith (mis-fath'), [< mis- 1 + faith.] Lack 
of faith or trust; distrust. Tennyson, Merlin 
and Vivien. 
misfallt (mis-fal'), " [ME. misfallen; < mis-' 1 
+ fain .] To fall out unluckily. 
Though the ones on a tyme mygfiUe. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1630. 
misfaret (mis-far' ),v.i. [< ME. misfaren. < AS. 
misfaran, go wrong, go astray, fare ill ( = OFries. 
misfara, do wrong, = Icel. misfara, go amiss, be 
lost), < mis- + faran, go, fare: see mis- 1 and 
fare 1 .] To fare ill ; go wrong or do wrong ; be 
unfortunate. 
Tin fader and al his folk so misfaren hadde, 
That alle here Hues in a stounde hadde be lore. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1359. 
Sigh this thynge how it misferde. 
Gower, Coat. Amant., v. 
misfaret (mis-far'), [< ME. mysfare (= Icel. 
misfari) ; from the verb.] Ill fare ; misfortune. 
Jesu ! the son of Dauid calde. 
Thou haue mercy ! 
Alias ! I crye, he heris me nojt, 
He has no ruthe of my mysfare. 
York Plays, p. 211. 
Great comfort in her sad misfare 
Was Amoret, companion of her care. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. v. 30. 
misfaringt (mis-far'ing), . [Verbal n. of mis- 
fare, v.] 1. Misfortune. 2. Evil-doing. 
For all the rest do most-what fare amis, 
And yet their owne misfarinq will not see. 
Spenser, Colin Clout, 1. 758. 
misfashiont (mis -fash 'on), t'. t. [< mis- 1 + 
fashion.] To fashion or form wrongly. Hake- 
will, On Providence. 
misfatet, n. [< mis- 1 + fate.] HI fate or luck ; 
misfortune. 
Through their own mis-fate in hailing none, 
Or, hauing Vertues, not to haue them known. 
Panaretus (tr. by Sylvester). 
misfeasance (mis-fe'zans), . [Formerly also 
misfcazance; < OF. mesfaisance, wrong, trespass, 
< mesfaisant, doing wrong: see misfeasant. Cf. 
malfeasance.] In laic: (a) A trespass; a wrong 
done. (6) In modern use, more specifically, the 
misuse of power; misbehavior in office; the 
wrongful and injurious exercise of lawful au- 
thority, as distinguished from malfeasance and 
nonfeasance. This word is often carelessly used 
in the sense of malfeasance. 
misfeasant (mis-fe'zant), . [< OF. mesfaina t, 
ppr. of mesfaire, mesfere (F. mefaire), do harm, 
< mes- + faire, < L. facere, do: see mis- 2 and 
fact, and cf. damaye-feasaiit.] In lav, a tres- 
passer; a misfeasor. 
misfeasor, misfeazor (mis-fe'zor), . [< OF. 
mrxfi'ixour, mesfesor, < mesfaire. misdo : see mis- 
feasant. ~\ One who is guilty of misfeasance. 
