measly
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measly
- /ˈmiːzli/ UK
- /ˈmizli/ US
Rhymes with -iːzli
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective measlier · measliest · measley
- Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with larval tapeworms or trichinae (parasitic roundworms). Then take five or six apples, pick out the cores and fill up the holes thus made with flour of brimstone; stop up the holes and cast in the apples to the measly hog.
- Of a person: infected with measles. A measly boy, he looked like a tramp, probably one of the street boys from the village, just walked up here and made himself at home, and when I told him to leave, he wouldn't.
- Small (especially contemptibly small) in amount. For one whole day's work all I was given was twenty measly pounds.
Translations
Talk about this word "measly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/measly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. measly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/measly "measly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/measly.Cite this
@misc{measly_2026,
title = {measly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/measly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
