misspeak 
used rcllcxivcly : as, I/NIXV/WT mii.-i-lf. [Colloq.] 
3f. To blame or calumniate. 
Minpealc not all fur hlr am IBB; there bin that krepen flocks, 
That never chose but once, nor yet beguiled love with moflka, 
1'eele, Arraignment of I'liriw, iii. 1. 
misspeakert (inis-spo'ktr), . [< MK. //.-,- 
x/H'ki-r ; < iiiisspt-iil; + -er 1 .] One who speaks 
falsely or slanderously. 
lie was oon of the beste kTiyghtes. and wiseste of the 
wurltle, and tlier-to the leste myit*i>eker, and noona-vauntor. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ lit 472. 
misspeecht (inis-spech'), n. [< MK. iiti.ispirhi; 
iiii/tni-xiHTlii' : < ;M-i + speech.'} A wrong 
speech; evil report; defamation. 
Than Mellon mekly hire maydenes dedc calle, 
And many of hire meyne for drede of mixse-speche, 
And went ful wiatly to Will[l)ams inne. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. 8.X L 1523. 
And otherwise of no mwneclie 
My conscience for to seche. 
Qower, Conf. Amant., it 
misspell (mis-spel'), 0. t. ; pret. and pp. mis- 
spelled (sometimes misspelt), ppr. misspelling, 
[< mi'.v-i + spelP,] To spell incorrectly. 
misspelling (mis-spel'ing), . [Verbal n. of 
Htixisprll.] A false spelling; false orthography. 
misspend (mis-spend'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. mis- 
fi/n nt. ppr. misspending. [< ME. misspenden; < 
m/.v-i + ./)c/irf.J To spend amiss; make a bad 
or useless expenditure of; waste: as, to mis- 
i/irntl time or money; to misspend life. 
I haue mytspendyd my yonge age 
In Bynne and wantonnehcde also. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 174. 
We shall misspend 
The time of action. B. Jonion, Sejanus, 11. 2. 
misspenset (mis-spens'), . [Also mispense, 
mispence ; < mis- 1 + spense (dispense).] Wrong 
or useless expenditure ; waste ; ill employment. 
If your negligence, your riotous mix-spence had empaired 
your estate, then Satan had impoverished you. 
/;/-. 11,1/1. Epistles, 11. 10. 
Their mixpence of money. Prynne, Hlstrlo-Mustix, 1. 1L 
misspent (mis-spent'), P. a. Ill-spent; badly 
or uselessly employed: as, misspent time; aiw- 
xpent life. 
misstate (mis-stat'), v. t.; pret. and pp. mis- 
.-intrd, ppr. misstatin g. [< mis- 1 + state, v.] To 
state wrongly; make an erroneous representa- 
tion of: as, to misstate a question in debate. 
misstatement (mis-stat'ment), n. [< misstate 
+ -ment.~\ A wrong statement; an erroneous 
account or relation: as, a misstatemtnt of facts 
in testimony, or of accounts in a report. 
In Justice both to Mr. Oarrick and Dr. Johnson I think 
It necessary to rectify this muttatement. 
Bosteell, Johnson, setat. 56. 
misstay(mis-sta' ),.. (X rois-i+stey 1 .] Naut., 
to miss stays ; fail of going about from one tack 
to another : said of a sailing vessel when tacking. 
misstep (mis-step'), . [< mil- 1 + step, n.] 1. A 
wrong or false step. 
As he was descending a flight of stairs, he made a mit- 
step, and fell headlong down five or six stairs. Preecott. 
2. A mistake in conduct; an incautious or er- 
roneous act. 
misstep (mis-step'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. misstcp- 
jii-il, ppr. misfitepping. [< ME. missteppen; < 
mix- 1 + step, c.J 1. To make a false step; 
stumble. 
She shall not with hi r lit dl to 
Miateppe, but he seeth it all. 
dower, Conf. Amant., T. 
2. To make a mistake ; stray. 
The Tree of Life : true name ; (alas the while !) 
Not for Hi' effect it had, but should haue kept, 
If Man from duty never had mis-stept. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, 11., Eden. 
missucceedt (mis-suk-sed'), f. t. [< mis- 1 + siif- 
ceed.] To succeed badly; fail; turn out ill. 
By the mitswceeding of matters. 
Fuller, Worthies, Lincoln, II. 270. 
missuccesst (niis-suk-ses'), n. [< mit-l + suc- 
(T.s'.s-.] Ill success; failure. 
missuggestiont (mis-su-jes'chon), n. [< mis- 1 
+ fin/ill. ftinii.] A wrong or evil suggestion. 
These cheaten, . . . that would fain win you from us 
with mere tricks of mitsitggettion. 
Bp. IlaU, To a Worthy Knight. 
missuit ( rais-suf), v. t. [< mis- 1 + sttit, r.] To 
be unbecoming to; ill become. 
In a tone 
Mitntitiivt a great man most. 
Mrs. Browning, Napoleon III. In Italy, xviii. 
missummation (mis-su-ma'shon), . [< //'.-- 1 
+ xii munition.'] An incorrect summation or 
addition. 
A mimumination in n fitted account could hardly have 
surprised him more disagreeably. Scott, Bob Roy, ii. 
3799 
missupposal (inis-su-p6V.nl ), ii. [< mix- 1 + mip- 
p/i.tnl.] An erroneous supposition. [Hare.] 
In this case the act |the shooting of William Rufus] was 
mU-advUed, proceeding on the mit-tupposal of a preven- 
tive circumstance. 
Unit/unit, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, U. 9. 
missuret, " [< L. as if 'missura, < mittere, pp. 
ini*.i>ui, send: see misnion.~\ A mission. 7>> 
This current parts itself Into two rivulets a commis- 
sion, a commlxtion: the mature, "I send you," the mix- 
ture, "as lambs among wolves." 
Rev. T. Attaint, Works, II. 110. 
missus, . See missis. 
misswayt (mis-swa'), v. t. [< ww-i + sway, p.] 
To misgovern. Davies. 
Through miiancaying It seemed to decline. 
Dana, Microcosmos, p. 60. 
misswear (mis-swar'), v. i.; pret. misswore, pp. 
mifxironi. ppr. missicearing. [< mis- 1 + swear.] 
To swear falsely. 
misswomant, n. See miswoman. 
missy 1 (mis'i), a. [<mis*2 + -y 1 .] Of or resem- 
bling a miss or young lady ; characteristic of 
young misses ; sentimental. 
The common namby-pamby little mitty phrase, " Indies 
have nothing to do with politics." 
Milt Bdgeworth, Helen, xxvlll. (Darirt.) 
missy 2 (mis'i), n. A diminutive of miss 2 : com- 
mon in England and in the southern United 
States. 
Send your dog In, mitty; . . . he obeys yon like a Chris- 
tian. R. D. Blackmore, Erema, xlv. 
Be a good child, muty. Charlotte Bronte, VUlette, I. 
mist 1 (mist), . [< ME. mist, < AS. mist, dark- 
ness, dimness (of the air), also dimness of sight 
(not used in the sense of 'fog' or 'vapor'), = 
MD. mist, miest, D. mist, darkness, fog, mist, = 
LG. mist = Icel. mistr = 8w. mint, darkness, 
mist. On the assumption that the sense ' vapor ' 
is more original, the word has been identified 
with OS. mist = D. mist, mest = MLQ. miste, 
LQ. mest, mess = OHG. MHG. G. mist = Dan. 
mist- (in mistbatik, a hotbed) = Goth, maihstus, 
dung, connected with AS. meox, ME. mix, E. 
mixen, dung (see mix 2 , mtxen), Gr. bfiixfy, ofuxty 
mist, OBulg. Buss, migla, Lith. migla, mist, 
Skt. mihira, a cloud, megna, cloud, mih, rain, 
mist, etc., from a root appearing in the verb, 
AS. migan = D. mijgen = LG. migen = MLiG. 
migen = Icel. miga = L. mingere = Gr. ofuxeiv 
= Lith. mezhu, urinate, orig. (as in the above- 
cited derivatives meaning 'cloud,' 'mist,' 'rain,' 
and in Skt.) 'sprinkle,' 'rain,' = Skt. mih, uri- 
nate, sprinkle.] 1. A cloud consisting of an ag- 
gregation of a vast number of minute globules 
of water, and resting upon the ground ; fog. 
Ther was such a myst that a man conde not se y length 
of a spere before him. 
Rernen, tr. of Frolssart's Chron., I. Ivili. 
Heavy Mint* obscure the bnrd'ned Air. 
Conyreve, Death of Queen Mary. 
2. Precipitation consisting of extremely fine 
droplets of water, much smaller and more close- 
ly aggregated than in rain: distinguished from 
fog in that the droplets are larger and have a 
perceptible downward motion . In a ship's log- 
book, abbreviated m. 
The mitt and rain which the west wind brings up from 
a boundless ocean. Macmilay, Hist. Eng., xil. 
The rain had thinned Into a fine close mitt. 
S.Judd, Margaret, i. l. 
A mitt is much wetter to the feel than a fog. 
S, H.Scott. 
3. Something which dims or darkens and ob- 
scures or intercepts physical or intellectual 
vision like a fog; obscurity. 
These prophet!! speken so in mytt, 
What thel mente we neuere knewe. 
Hymn* to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 41. 
His passion cast a mixt before his sense. Dryden. 
Raising mitt* ouer the Scripture-sense, which thereby 
they misse and cannot flnde. Fmchax. Pilgrimage, p. 18. 
All mid from thence 
Purge and dispene. JfOton, P. L., ill. 5S. 
Where there is a giddiness in the head, there will al- 
ways be a mist before the eyes. South, Works, III. ii. 
Scotch mist, a particularly heavy and wetting mist like 
that common in the highlands of western Scotland, which 
is notably continuous, dense, and penetrating ; also, hu- 
morously, rain. =Syn. 1. Fog, Haze, et. See rain. 
mist 1 (mist), v. [< ME. "mistcn, < AS. mixtitni, 
grow dim (= D. misten, be misty, be foggy), 
< mist, darkness, dimness: see mist 1 , n. Hence 
freq. mistle?, minle, now spelled mizzle.] I. trans. 
To cover or obscure with or as with mist; 
cloud; obscure. 
Lend me a looking-glass : 
If that her breath will mist or Rtain the stone, 
Why then she lives. Shot., Lear, T. 3. 282. 
mistaken 
\v hose sense. If I haue missed or milled in these many 
words, I craue pardon. 1'nrrlni*, I'ilirrimaKv, p. 14. 
No atift bloom 
Milted the cheek. Kealt, Lamia. 
II. intriins. To be misty or drizzling: as, it 
mi*/.-'. [Colloq.] 
mist'-'. An obsolete or occasional form otmufed, 
gin li-rit ami past participle of mi** 1 , 
mista'en (mis-tan ), ;>;>. A contraction of mi- 
tu/.-i n. 
This dagger hath muta'en. Shot., R. and J., v. S. . 
mistakable (mis-ta'ka-bl), a. [< mistake + 
-ulilc. ] That may be mistaken ; liable to be mis- 
understood. 
They are set forth In minor and leu mufaUroMe numbers. 
SirT. Browne, Vulg. Err., vL 1. 
mistake (mis-tak'), v.; pret. mistook, pp. mi>- 
tnl;rn, ppr. mistaking. [< ME. mistaken, < Icel. 
mistaka, take wrongly, make a slip ( = Sw. miss- 
t a i in, make a miHtake), < mis-, wrongly, + taka, 
take : see mi'*- 1 and t<ik<-.} I. trans. If. To take 
wrongly; appropriate erroneously or through 
misapprehension. 
Like a fair house built on another man's ground ; so that 
I have lost my edifice by mutalnivj the place where I erect- 
ed It. Skat., M. W. of W., 1L 2. 225. 
II Mate a cloak 
From my lord's back, and pawn It. 
B. Jonion, New Inn, I. 1. 
2. To take or choose erroneously; choose amiss, 
as between alternatives; regard (something) 
as other than it is: as, to mistake one's road or 
bearings ; to mistake a fixed star for a planet. 
Yon have miitoolr, my lady, 
Follxenes for Leontes. Shot., W. T., Ii. 1. si. 
Beas'nlng at ev'ry step he treads, 
Man yet mittalcet his way. 
Cooper, The Doves. 
Men are apt to miitake the strength of their feeling for 
the strength of their argument. 
(lladttnne, Might of Right, p. 298. 
3. To take in a wrong sense; conceive or 
understand erroneously; misunderstand j mis- 
judge : as, to mistake one's meaning or inten- 
tions. 
Sir. we shull a-mende to yow for vs and for oure felowes 
alle these thinges, wlth-onte more seylnge, wher-of we haue 
a-geln yow myitalcen, wher-fore we be-seche yow of par- 
don. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. Ml. 
Then, good my liege, mistake me not so much 
To think my poverty is treacherous. 
Shak.. As you Like it, I. 3. 66. 
To be mistaken, (a) Tobemlsunderstood,mlsconcelTed, 
or misapprehended, (ft) To make a mistake ; be In error ; 
be wrong ; misapprehend. To mistake awayt, to take 
away wrongly or improperly ; purloin. See def. 1. 
Mixtalce them a trail, 
And ask a fee for coming? Donne, Satires, v. 
II. intrans. If. To take a wrong part; trans- 
gress. 
Ladyes, I preye ensample takfth, 
Ye that ageyns yourc love matakitk. 
Rom. of the Rote, L 1640. 
2. To err in advice, opinion, or judgment; be 
under a misapprehension or misconception ; be 
unintentionally in error. 
If I miitake not, tbou art Harry Monmonth. 
Shak.,lUen. IV., v. 4. 59. 
mistake (mis-tak'), . [= Dan. Sw. misstag; 
from the verb.] 1. An error in action, opinion, 
or judgment; especially, misconception, mis- 
apprehension, or misunderstanding; an errone- 
ous view, act ? or omission, arising from igno- 
rance, confusion, misplaced confidence, etc. ; a 
slip; a fault; an error; a blunder. 
Infallibility is an absolute security of the understand- 
ing from all possibility of miitake. TMotton. 
But what Is commonly said of Cedar, that the Worm 
will not touch It, Is a trtittakf, for I have seen of it very 
much worm eaten. Dampier, Voyages, L 29. 
No mistake can be greater than that which looks on the 
Roman plebs as the low multitude of a town. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lects., p. 292. 
A sentiment, In itself amiable and respectable, led him 
I William III.) to commit the greatest mistake of his whole 
life. Macaulay. Hist. Eng., xxlv. 
2. In lair, an erroneous mental conception that 
influences the will and leads to action. Pom- 
eroy. It Is usually considered that if neglect of a legal 
duty was the cause it deprives the error of the character 
of mistake in the legal sense. See accident, 2 (a). And 
no mistake, unquestionably ; assuredly: certainly ; with- 
out fail. [Colloq.] 
I mean to go along all square, and no mittakr. Trallnpe. 
= Syn. 1. Error, BvU, etc. See blunder. 
mistaken (mis-ta'kn),/).n. 1. Wrongly taken ; 
misunderstood; misconceived. 
So, like the watchful traveller 
That by the moon's mUtaken light did rise, 
Lay down again, and closed bis weary eyes. 
Dryden, Astrea Redux, L 149. 
