Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “mischief” come from?

mischief (Middle English) comes from Middle English myschef, from Old French meschief, from Old French meschever, from Old French mes, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie.

mischief (Middle English): Alternative form of myschef

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of myschef

Ancestry of “mischief”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishmyschefA troubling or unfortunate situation or event; an...
2Old Frenchmeschiefmisfortune; mishap; evil deed, wrong
3Old Frenchmescheverto fail; to make a mistake; to suffer a...
4Old Frenchmesbut; my
5Latinmagismore; more greatly; better
6Dutchmagischmagical, controlled or determined by supernatural...
7Dutchmagiemagic, sorcery ; hence supernatural occurrences...
8Frenchmagiemagic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;...
9Middle Frenchmagie—
10Latinmagīa—
11Ancient Greekμαγεία—
12Ancient GreekΜάγοςmagician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,...
13Old Persian𐎶𐎦𐏁priest
14Proto-Iranianmagúš—
15Proto-Indo-Iranianmagʰúš—
Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian magʰúš →