misère

See also: misere, Misere, and miserê

English

Alternative forms

• misere

Etymology

Borrowed from French misère. Doublet of misery.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪˈzɛə(ɹ)/, /miːˈzɛə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Noun

misère (plural misères)

1. (card games, whist and others) A bid to lose every trick, or the majority of tricks, with no trumps.
   • 1895, Barry Pain, Jerome Klapka Jerome (contributors), To-Day, A Weekly Magazine-Journal‎^[1], volume 9, number 105, page 248:

     The exasperating frequency of hands where one card alone, such as a king or ace, supported by a deuce only, or king or ace bare, debars the holder from calling misère is an experience common to every player.

Adjective

misère (not comparable)

1. Played according to the reverse of the usual winning convention.

   A strategy in misère backgammon is to put six blots in a row.

2. Of a game, in which a player that is unable to move wins.

Derived terms

• lay-down misère
• misère ouvert

See also

• miser

Anagrams

• Meiser, Siemer, Eimers, Meiers, remise, misree

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin miseria.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mi.zɛʁ/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /mi.zaɛ̯ʁ/

• Audio; “la misère”:

  (file)

Noun

misère f (plural misères)

1. misery
2. poverty

   Il a vécu pendant longtemps dans la misère.

   He lived in poverty for a long time.

Derived terms

• avoir de la misère
• chercher misère
• faire des misères
• misère noire
• salaire de misère

Descendants

• → German: Misere
• → Haitian Creole: mizè
• → Swedish: misär

Interjection

misère

1. dear me! dear Lord! oh boy! heavens! woe is me!

   Synonyms: seigneur, bon sang, bon Dieu

Further reading

• “misère”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• merise, remise, remisé