Miser - Definition and Overview

Miser is the term for a person who is reluctant to spend money, usually for the point where he or she forgoes even basic comforts. It derives from the Latin, "miser", meaning "poor" or "wretched."

In fiction, a miser is a stock character: a wealthy, greedy man who lives miserably in order to save and increase his treasure. Dickens's Ebenezer Scrooge is an obvious example.

A related stereotype is the capitalist as portrayed in, for example, Soviet propaganda. Both are usually moneylenders or industrialists, in any case businessmen, who possess great personal wealth but aren't bothered by the fate of the poor. The difference is that, unlike the miser, the capitalist does spend his money, leading a decadent life.

Anti-Semites have portrayed Jews in both ways.

See also

• Hetty Green
• Collyer brothers
• Charles Huffman