micawber

/mɪˈkɒbər/

Etymology

A name likely coined by Charles Dickens, evidently reminiscent of common Irish, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic surnames starting with Mc-, Mac-, both from Old Irish macc (“son, child”) (see more there). For the second particle, compare names like Aubrey; similar surnames like M(a)cAubrey are attested around Dickens' time and thus Micawber may represent a dialectal variation.

Why this word is great

MICAWBER — [Noun] A person who is poor but remains stubbornly optimistic, trusting that "something will turn up," as epitomized by Wilkins Micawber in Dickens' *David Copperfield*. Coined by Charles Dickens, likely blending the prefix Mc-/Mac- (from Old Irish *macc*, 'son, child') with elements resembling names like Aubrey, possibly influenced by surnames such as M(a)cAubrey. Unlike "Pollyanna" (who ignores hardship with saccharine naivety) or "Scrooge" (who hoards and scowls at life's possibilities), a Micawber faces ruin with unshakable faith in providence—and an unpaid tab. He is the threadbare gentleman tipping his hat to creditors, the gambler placing his last coin on a long shot, the father serving toast scrapings as if they were a feast, all while the bailiffs pound at the door. Hope, for him, is not a virtue but a pathology.

noun

A person who is poor but eternally optimistic, believing that "something will turn up", like the fictional character Wilkins Micawber in the 1850 Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield.“As it is I see Destitution and Despair ahead of me, and have begun an epitaph in the Micawber style for my future grave in the precincts of my native County's jail.”

verb

To be optimistic that "something will turn up", in the style of Wilkins Micawber.“To hope that the Administration and Congress will become Anti-National Bank, and thereby expect something, is Micawbering in dread earnest.”