Where does “mistake” come from?
Mistake comes from Middle English mistaken, from Old Norse mistaka, meaning to take wrongly.
mistake (English): To understand wrongly, taking one thing or person...
Definitions
- To understand wrongly, taking one thing or person...
Ancestry of “mistake”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mistaken | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | mistaka | to take in error, to miscarry |
Words derived from “mistake”