Misery loves company is a proverb that dates back hundreds of years, perhaps farther than you think. We will look at the meaning of the phrase misery loves company, where it comes from and some examples of its use in sentences.
Misery loves company means people who are suffering are comforted by the knowledge that other are also unhappy. It is a proverb, which is a short phrase or sentence that addresses a universal truth or common sentiment. The term misery loves company is often ascribed to John Ray, an English naturalist who was active in the middle to late seventeenth century. However, the proverb appears in the play Doctor Faustus by Christoper Marlowe: Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris. This Latin phrase literally translates as “To the unhappy it is a comfort to have had company in misery.” However, Marlowe is not the originator of this Latin phrase, Dominick de Gravina, a 14th-century Italian historian wrote this Latin phrase in his work, Chronicon de rebus in Apulia gestis. It is reasonable to assume that the sentiment of this proverb is even older.
Examples
And while the adage states misery loves company, these two Lions have no interest in seeing the Browns replicate their feat of futility. (The Detroit News)
Perhaps misery loves company, so it’s usually young winger Andre Burakovsky, in a goal drought himself since scoring two in the first game of the season, who joins Williams on the ice before practice. (The Washington Post)
For those who believe misery loves company, Clinton voters in Chicago can take heart from the fact they have a whole lot of company in their midst. (The Chicago Sun-Times)