miserere means the 51st Psalm (50th in the older Greek and Latin numbering), beginning “Have mercy upon me, O God …” in the King James Version; sometimes set to music. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
miserere is pronounced /mɪzəˈɹɛəɹi/.
Why “miserere” is a great word
MISERERE — [Noun] A term of profound dual resonance: it is the incipit and common name for the 51st Psalm, a penitential plea; historically, it also denotes a medieval dagger for mercy-killing or a church-stall support allowing a weary cleric to lean. From Latin miserēre ("have pity"), the imperative form of miserērī ("to have mercy"), from miser ("wretched, pitiable"). Unlike "misericord" (which specifies the architectural or weaponized artifact) or "lamentation" (a general utterance of grief), "miserere" binds the sacred and the somatic, the plea and its physical proxy. It is the hushed, polyphonic ascent of Allegri’s setting in the Sistine Chapel; the cold, tapered blade slipped between the ribs to end a knight’s agony; the carved wooden ledge, worn smooth by the weight of a praying monk during the long night offices—each a different architecture for bearing the unbearable weight of mercy.
name
- The 51st Psalm (50th in the older Greek and Latin numbering), beginning “Have mercy upon me, O God …” in the King James Version; sometimes set to music.“One of the most impressive ceremonies of Holy Week is the chanting of the Miserere.”
noun
- An expression of lamentation or complaint.
- A medieval dagger, used for the mercy stroke to a wounded foe; misericord.
- A small projecting boss or bracket on the underside of the hinged seat of a church stall, intended to give some support to a standing worshipper when the seat is turned up; a misericord.
- Ileus.