misrepeat 
The petition was of many sheets of paper, and contained 
many false accusations (and . . . some truths misrepeat- 
ed). Winthrop, Hist. New England, i. \-i-l. 
misreport (inis-re-porf), v. [< mis- 1 + report.'] 
1. trans. 1. To report incorrectly. 
Yf they be such indeed, quod your frende, and that 
they bee not mistaken or misreported. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 249. 
2f. To give a false report of ; misrepresent ma- 
liciously; backbite; slander. 
Not to backbite, slander, misreport, or undervalue any 
man. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), 1. 197. 
II. ill trans. To make an incorrect report. 
Ceesar, whose Autority we are now first to follow, wanted 
not who tax'd him of mis-reporting in his Commentaries. 
Milton, Hint. Eng.,i. 
misreport (mis-re-port'), 11. [< misreport, v.] 
A false or incorrect report. 
We are not to be guided in the sense we have of that 
book ... by the misreports of some ancients. 
N. Grew, Cosmologia Sacra, iv. 1. 
misreporter (mis-re-por'ter), . One who mis- 
reports or reports falsely. 
misrepresent (mis-rep-re-zent'),t>. [</is- 1 + 
represent.] I. trans. 1. To represent errone- 
ously or falsely ; give a false or incorrect ac- 
count or representation of, whether intention- 
ally or not. 
In the very act of misrepresenting the laws of composi- 
tion, he shows how well he understands them. 
Macaulay, John Dryden. 
2. To fail to represent correctly or in good faith 
as agent or official representative ; act contrary 
to the wishes or interests of, as of one's princi- 
pal or constituents, in the transaction of busi- 
ness, legislation, etc. 
II. intrans. To convey a false impression. 
Or do my eyes misrepresent? Can this be he? 
Milton, S. A., 1. 124. 
misrepresentationCmis-rep're-zen-ta'shon), it. 
[< mis- 1 + representation.'] "1. Erroneous or 
false representation; an unfair or dishonest 
account or exposition; a false statement: as, 
to injure one's character by misrepresentations. 
The Scriptures frequently forbid rash judgments, and 
censoriousness, and a misrepresentation of other men's ac- 
tions, and hard thoughts concerning them. 
Jartin, Discourses, iii. 
2. Incorrect or unfaithful representation in the 
capacity of agent or official representative, as 
of a principal in a matter of business, or of con- 
stituents in legislation. 3. In map-making, 
faultiness in a map-projection, estimated with 
regard to its unequal scale in different parts and 
to its distortion of angles. 
misrepresentative (mis-rep-re-zen'ta-tiv), a. 
and ii. [< mi's- 1 + representative,'] I. n. Tend- 
ing to misrepresent or convey a false impres- 
sion; misrepresenting. 
II. ii. One who misrepresents, or fails to rep- 
resent truly. [Bare.] 
Let us hope the lovers of this sort of freedom are misrep- 
resentatives of their race. Congregationalist, Aug. 12, 1886. 
misrepresenter (mis-rep-re-zen'ter), . One 
who misrepresents. 
misrepute (mis-re-put'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. mis- 
reputed, ppr. misreputing. [< mis- 1 + repute.'] 
To repute or estimate erroneously ; hold in 
wrong estimation. 
They shall vindicate the misreputed honour of God. 
Milton, Divorce, ii. 22. 
misresemblance (mis-re-zem'blaus),w. [<is-i 
+ resemblance.'] An imperfect or mistaken re- 
semblance or description. [Rare.] 
Return we now 
To a lighter strain, and from the gallery 
Of the Dutch poet's misresemblances 
Pass into mine. 
Southey, To A. Cunningham. (Davies.) 
misresult (mis-re-zulf), n. [< mis- 1 + result.} 
An untoward or unwelcome result or conclu- 
sion. Carlyle. See quotation under mispur- 
suit. 
misrule (mis-rol'),m. [< mis- 1 + rule, .] 1. 
Bad rule; misgovernment; wrongful exercise 
of power or authority. 
As if ... I to them [my enemies] had quitted all, 
At random yielded up to their misrule. 
MMon, P. L., x. 628. 
2. Absence of control or restraint ; insubor- 
dination ; disorder. 
Fare not with foli oure fos for to glade, 
Ne wirk not vnwysly in thi wilde dedis, 
That till manhocl be marte thurgh thi mysrewle. 
Destruction nf Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6126. 
The loud misrule 
Of Chaos far removed. Milton, t. L., vii. 271. 
3796 
There, in the portal placed, the heaven-horn maid 
Enormous riot and misrule survey'd. 
Fenton, in Pope's Odyssey, i. 138. 
Abbot of misrule. See abbot. Lord or king of mis- 
rule. See lord. 
misrule (mis-rol'), v. t. or i. ; pret. and pp. IMM- 
i-nli'il, ppr. misruling. [< ME. misreulen; < mis- 1 
4- rule, r.] To rule badly ; govern unwisely or 
oppressively. 
Nor has any ruler a right to require that his subjects 
should be contented with his misgovernment by showing 
them a neighbouring prince who oppresses and misrules 
far more. Brougham . 
misrulyt (mis-ro'li), o. [< mis- 1 + ruly, as also 
in unruly.'] Unruly; ungovernable. 
Curb the range of his misruly tongue. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, VI. 178. 
miss 1 (mis), '. [< ME. missen, myssen, < AS. 
missan (not *missian), miss (fail to hit), escape 
the notice of, = OFries. missa, be without, = 
D. missen = MLG. LG. missen = OHG. MHG. 
G. missen = Icel. missa = Sw. mista = Dan. wis- 
te = Goth, "missjan (not recorded), miss; from 
an orig. noun or adj. extant as a prefix, AS. 
and E. mis- = D. mis- = OHG. missa-, MHG. 
misse-, G. misse-, miss-, mis- = Icel. mis- = Sw. 
miss- = Dan. mis- = Goth, missa-, 'wrongly,' 
' amiss,' in the adverb, E. miss 1 , ME. mis = D. 
mis = Icel. mis, wrongly, amiss, = Goth, misso. 
interchangeably, and in the derivative, AS. 
mislic, misselic, mistlic, missenlic, misscndlic, etc., 
= Goth, minnaleits, various, diverse, different 
(seemislicii); prob. with orig. pp.suffix -t(E. -rf 2 , 
-ed' 2 ) from the root of AS. mitlian (pp. mithen), 
avoid, conceal, be concealed, refrain, = OS. 
mitlian = OFries. mitlia = D. mijden = MLG. 
miden = OHG. mldan, MHG. miden, G. meidrn, 
avoid. The different senses ' miss,' ' avoid,' 
' change,' ' be various,' may all be derived from 
that of ' deviate.' Cf. the development of senses 
associated with mad 1 , from 'change,' 'alter,' 
to ' maim ' in a physical sense, ' distract ' in a 
mental sense. See mis-, amiss, etc.] I. trans. 
1. To fail to reach or attain ; come short of, or 
go aside or deviate from, as what is aimed at, ex- 
pected, or desired; fail to hit, catch, or grasp: 
as, to miss the mark. 
Though we could not have his life, yet we missed not 
our desires in his soft departure. 
Sir T. Browne, To a Friend. 
I was to see Monsieur Verney at his Apartment at the 
upper-end of the Royal Physick Garden, but, missing my 
visit, went up with a young Gentleman of my Lord Am- 
bassador's Retinue, to see Mr. Bennis. 
Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 63. 
The pleasure miss'd her, and the scandal hit. 
Pope, Moral Essays, ii. 128. 
As I never miss aim, I had the misadventure to kill the 
Honourable Master Crofts at the first shot. 
Scott, Peveril of the Peak, xxxiv. 
2. To fail or come short of, as from lack of ca- 
pacity or opportunity ; fail to be, find, attain to, 
or accomplish (what one might or should have 
been, found, attained to, or accomplished) : as. 
he just missed being a poet; you have missed 
your true vocation. 
The invention all admired, and each how he 
To be the inventor miss'd. Milton, P. L., vi. 499. 
3. To fail to find, get, or keep ; come short of 
having or receiving; fail to obtain or enjoy: 
as, to miss the way or one's footing ; to miss a 
meal or an appointment. 
In that citty virtue shall never cease, 
And felicity no soule shall misse. 
Kob. of Gloucester, p. 584, App. 
If she desired above all things to have Argalus, Argalus 
feared nothing but to miss Parthenia. Sir P. Sidney. 
Spur to destruction 
You cannot miss the way. 
Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, ii. 2. 
One must have eyes that see, and ears that hear, or one 
misses a good deal. Mrs. J. H. Euring, Idyll of the Woods. 
4. To become aware of the loss or absence of; 
find to be lacking; note or deplore the absence 
of ; feel the want or need of : as, to miss one's 
watch or purse ; to miss the comforts of home ; 
to miss the prattle of a child. 
Neither missed we anything. . . . Nothing was missed 
of all that pertained unto him. 1 Sam. xxv. 15, 21. 
Thee I have miss'd, and thought it long, deprived 
Thy presence. Milton, P. L., ix. 857. 
The king was no sooner gone than the army missed him, 
and WHS aii in the greatest uproar. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, II. 21. 
5. To fail to note, perceive, or observe; over- 
look or disregard : as, to miss the best points 
of a play. 
The faults of his understanding and temper lie on the 
surface, and cannot be missed. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. 
6. To escape ; succeed in avoiding. 
miss 
I have purged and vexed my body much since I writ to 
you, and this day I have missed my fit ; and this is the first 
time that I could discern any intermission. 
Donne, Letters, xxii. 
So well my Armour did resist, 
So oft by llight the Blow I mist. 
Cowley, Anacreontics, iv. 
And you have miss'd the irreverent doom 
Of those that wear the Poet's crown. 
Tennyson, To . 
7. To omit; leave out; skip, as a word in re- 
citing or a note in singing. 
She would never miss one day 
A walk so fine, a sight so gay. 
Prior, Lady's Looking-Glass. 
8f. To do without ; dispense with ; spare. 
We cannot miss him ; he does make our flre, 
Fetch in our wood. Shale., Tempest, i. 2. 311. 
I will have honest, valiant souls about me ; 
I cannot miss thee. Fletcher, Mad Lover, ii. 1. 
9f. To lack ; be deprived of. 
For as a man may nat seo that mysseth hus eyen, 
No more can no clerkes bote if hit be of bookes. 
Piers Plowman (C), xv. 44. 
To miss one's tip, to fail in one's scheme or purpose ; 
fail in effecting a desired object. [Slang.] 
Jupe [a circus clown] . . . didn't do what he ought to 
do. Was short in his leaps and bad in his tumbling. . . . 
In a general way that's missing his tip. 
Dickens, Hard Times, i. 6. 
One as had had it very sharp act'ly runs right at the 
leaders, . . . only luck'ly for him he misses his tip and 
conies over a heap o' stones. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, i. 4. 
To miss out, to omit ; leave out. 
In several instances the transcriber by a slip of the pen 
has missed out words or parts of words. 
English Gads (E. E. T. S.), p. 432, note. 
TO miss stays (naul.), to fail in going about from one 
tack to another. See stay. To miss the cushion t. See 
cushion. * 
II. intrans. 1. To fail of success or effect; 
miscarry; fail to hit the mark, as in shooting, 
playing certain games, etc. 
How myjte y of thi mercy myt, 
Sithen to helpe man thou art so hende? 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 203. 
Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss. 
Bacon. 
Flying bullets now, 
To execute his rage, appear too slow ; 
They miss, or sweep but common souls away. 
Waller. 
2f. To fall short; fail in observation or attain- 
ment: with of or in. 
Butt for alle he myst of his entent. 
Oenerydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1383. 
If your scholer do misse sometimes in marking rightlie 
these foresaid sixe things, chide not hastelie. 
Aicham, The Scholemaster, p. 31. 
To that end he [St. Paul] lays down the most powerful! 
Motive and Consideration : for in due season ye shall reap 
if ye faint not ; i. e. ye shall not miss of a reward from God. 
StUlinffjfteet, Sermons, II. vii. 
St. To go astray; go wrong; slip; fall. 
Saye, and not misse, 
How long agone, and whence yt was, 
The fayre rounde worlde first came to passe, 
As yt now ys? Puttenham, Partneniades, xi. 
Emongst the Angels, a whole legione 
Of wicked Sprightes did fall from happy blis ; 
What wonder, then, if one of wdmen all did mis' 
Spenser, . Q., III. Ix. 2. 
miss 1 (mis), n. [< ME. mis, mys, misse, mysse ; 
from the verb. Cf. amiss.] 1. A failure to find, 
reach, catch, hit, grasp, obtain, or attain ; want 
of success. 
And so he made his mi* to mende 
The sawter buke right to the ende. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 78. 
Y misse of Lord Sandwich redoubl'd the losse to me, and 
shew'd the folly of hazarding so brave a fleete. 
Evelyn, Diary, June 2, 1672. 
2f. Error; fault; misdeed; wrong-doing; sin. 
When we war put out of that blis 
To won in midelerth for oure mis. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 66. 
O rakel hand, to doon so foule a mys [var. amys]. 
Chaucer, Manciple's Tale, 1. 174. 
Thus, although God sent his holy spirit to call mee, and 
though I heard him, yet ... I went forward obstinately 
in my misse. Greene, Groats- Worth of Wit (ed. 1617)1 
3f. Hurt or harm from mistake or accident. 
Beholde frelete of my manhede 
That makes me oft to do of myse. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 106. 
And though one fall through heedless hast, 
Yet is his misse not mickle. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., July. 
4. Loss; want; hence, a feeling of loss. 
I beseche you to sende me for almes oon of your olde 
gownes, which will countirvale much of the premysscs I 
wote wele ; and I shall be yours while I lyve, and at your 
comandement ; I have grcte myst of it, God knows. 
Paston Letters, II. 334. 
