measly

Adjective

measly (comparative measlier, superlative measliest)

1. Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with larval tapeworms or trichinae (parasitic roundworms).
   • Then take five or six apples, pick out the cores and fill up the holes thus made with flour of brimstone; stop up the holes and cast in the apples to the measly hog.1847, William Youatt, The Pig: A Treatise on the Breeds, Management, Feeding, and Medical Treatment, of Swine; with Directions for Salting Pork, and Curing Bacon and Hams, page 113
2. Of a person: infected with measles.
   • A measly boy, he looked like a tramp, probably one of the street boys from the village, just walked up here and made himself at home, and when I told him to leave, he wouldn't.1902, The Epworth Herald
3. (figuratively, informal) Small (especially contemptibly small) in amount.
   • For one whole day's work all I was given was twenty measly pounds.
   • The visiting tourists eagerly forked over a measly two dollars per group to their guides as payment for their services. This amount was measly sum to the givers, but a princely sum to the takers.2004, Richard Rizun, Ora, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   miserable, paltry, trifling