Commiseration
/ˌkɒmɪsəˈreɪʃən/noun
Sympathy or pity for someone else's suffering.
Did you know?Commiseration comes from Latin miserari, “to pity,” from miser, “wretched, miserable,” so the word’s core idea is not comfort first, but joining someone in their misery.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meys-
“to diminish, be small; later associated with wretchedness and misery”
Latin
Latin
miser
“wretched, unhappy, pitiable”
Latin
Latin
miserārī
“to pity, to feel compassion for”
Latin
Latin
commiserātiō
“pity, compassion, sympathy”
Middle English
English
commiseracioun
“pity, compassion”
Modern English
English
commiseration
“sympathetic pity for another's suffering”
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