Where does “miserable” come from?
Miserable comes from Middle French miserable, from Latin miserabilis meaning "worthy of pity," derived from the Latin suffix -bilis combined with a Proto-Italic root -ðlis ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlis.
miserable (English): In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor;...
Definitions
- In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor;...
Ancestry of “miserable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | miserable | — |
| 2 | Latin | miserabilis | pitiable, miserable, deplorable, lamentable,... |
| 3 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |