Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “mis-” come from?

mis- (Middle English) comes from Old English mis-, from Proto-Germanic missa-, from Proto-Indo-European mitto, from Proto-Indo-European meyth₂- — to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to...

Ancestry of “mis-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmis-bad, badly, wrong, wrongly; lack or failure
2Proto-Germanicmissa-mis-, badly, wrongly
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmittomutual, reciprocal
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmeyth₂-to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to...

Words derived from “mis-”

  • misfortune
  • misunderstanding
  • misconduct
  • misuse
  • mistrust
  • mismatch
  • misrepresentation
  • misconception
  • misunderstand
  • miscarriage
  • mishap
  • mismanagement
  • misdemeanor
  • mistreatment
  • misinterpretation
  • misapprehension
  • misgiving
  • misinformation
  • misshapen
  • misstatement
  • misbehavior
  • misrepresent
  • misappropriation
  • misinterpret
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meyth₂- →