Link Centre Dictionary

measly

UK/ˈmiːzli/ US/ˈmizli/ uncommon informal

adjective

1.

contemptibly small in amount

  • “a measly tip”
  • “the company donated a miserable $100 for flood relief”
  • “a paltry wage”
  • “almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From measle (“singular of measles”) + -y; the word measle is either from Middle Dutch masel (“a blister filled with blood; a pustule, a skin blemish”), or Middle Low German masel (“a red skin blemish”), from Proto-Germanic *masuraz (“a knot or scar in wood; a knarl”), from *mas-, *mēs- (“a spot; a sore; a scar”), from Proto-Indo-European *mos- (“a skin sore”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.