Where does “mis-” come from?
mis- (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic missa-, from Proto-Indo-European mitto, from Proto-Indo-European meyth₂- — to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to...
mis- (Old English): bad, badly, wrong, wrongly; lack or failure
Definitions
- bad, badly, wrong, wrongly; lack or failure
Ancestry of “mis-”, step by step
mis- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Proto-Germanic missa-
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | missa- | mis-, badly, wrongly |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | mitto | mutual, reciprocal |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | meyth₂- | to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to... |
via Proto-West Germanic *missa-
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | *missa- | miss-, wrongly |