Where does “missing” come from?

Missing derives from English miss, which comes from Old English missan meaning to fail or go wrong, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mey- meaning to change or exchange.

missing (English): present participle of miss; Not able to be...

Definitions

  1. present participle of miss; Not able to be...

Ancestry of “missing”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmissTo fail to hit; To fail to achieve or attain; To...
2Middle Englishmissen—
3Old Englishmissanto miss; to not notice something
4Proto-Germanicmissijanąto miss, go wrong, fail
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmēyt-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

Words derived from “missing”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēyt- →Every word from Proto-Germanic missijaną →