Where does “mischief” come from?
Mischief comes from Middle English meschief, from Old French meschief, derived from Old French meschever, from Old French chever, ultimately from Frankish mis- combined with Latin caput meaning head.
mischief (English): Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance; A...
Definitions
- Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance; A...
Ancestry of “mischief”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | myschef | A troubling or unfortunate situation or event; an... |
| 2 | Old French | meschief | misfortune; mishap; evil deed, wrong |
| 3 | Old French | meschever | to fail; to make a mistake; to suffer a... |
| 4 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 5 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 6 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 7 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 8 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 9 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 10 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 13 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 14 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |