penurious (English)

Where does "penurious" come from?

The English adjective 'penurious' derives from the Medieval Latin 'pēnūriōsus'[1]. This formation is connected to the Latin 'penuria', meaning 'want'[1], which also relates to the French 'pénurie'[1]. Over time, the term evolved to describe being miserly, excessively cheap, or impoverished.

Full etymology tree

• penurious (English), 'Miserly; excessively cheap.'
  • derived pēnūriōsus (Medieval Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• pénurie (French)
• penuria (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• penuriously (English)
• penuriousness (English)
• unpenurious (English)

Sources

1. penurious (English) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris