Misers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People who exhibit an intense desire to accumulate and retain wealth without spending it
2. Individuals known for their extreme frugality, often to the detriment of their quality of life
3. Persons who persistently gather and guard money, avoiding expenditure ; individuals who are unwilling to use their money even for necessary or enjoyable purposes

Etymology: "Misers" is the plural of "miser," and the noun "miser" first appears in Middle English as "misser," borrowed from the Late Latin adjective "miser," which meant "wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable." The surprise is that the original sense had nothing to do with hoarding money. A miser was first simply someone pitiable, a person in a sorry state, and the thrift sense developed later as the word narrowed. That narrowing is the key to the modern meaning. Someone who is "miserable" in the Latin sense suffers, and a person who hoards wealth while denying themselves comfort is, in a sense, making their own life wretched. The link between wretchedness and stinginess is still visible in the way the word now describes someone whose frugality costs them their own quality of life.

Synonyms: stingy persons, cheapskates

Antonyms: generous people, philanthropists