Word of the Day: MEASLY

Pitiful, piddling, or paltry

measly (adj) - contemptibly small or insufficient in amount, quantity, quality, or size; infected with measles or parasites [mee-zlee]

• measles is a contagious, airborne viral disease that can lead to severe complications and death (also rubeola)

BREAKDOWN: The original meaning of the word measly was literal: infected with measles. However, in the mid-19th century, measly came to be used as an English colloquialism meaning small or insignificant. The word measles itself was coined by an English physician as a combination of the medieval English mesles and the Latin misella; the former derives from the Middle Dutch masel meaning blemish and the latter is the source of the root MISER- meaning wretched in words like commiserate and miserable.

“Our usual perception of the world is limited to what is biologically or socially useful. Our brains evolved to admit to our awareness only the measly trickle of information required for our survival and no more.” —Michael Pollan

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]