Where does “misadventure” come from?
Misadventure comes from Middle English misaventure, from Old French mesaventure, combining Old French mes- (bad) and Frankish mis- (bad) with Latin advenire (to arrive).
misadventure (English): An accidental mishap or misfortune
Definitions
- An accidental mishap or misfortune
Ancestry of “misadventure”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | misaventure | — |
| 2 | Old French | mesaventure | misfortune; misadventure |
| 3 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 4 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 5 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 6 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 7 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 8 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 9 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 12 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 13 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |