wretch

 
Pronunciation: /rɛtʃ/

noun

  • an unfortunate or unhappy person: can the poor wretch’s corpse tell us anything?
  • informal a despicable or contemptible person: ungrateful wretches

Origin:

Old English wrecca (also in the sense 'banished person'), of West Germanic origin; related to German Recke 'warrior, hero', also to the verb wreak