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mis-¹

pref.

1. Bad; badly; wrong; wrongly: misconduct.

2. Failure; lack: misfire.

3. Used as an intensive: misdoubt.

[Partly from Middle English mis- (from Old English) and partly from Middle English mes-, mis- (from Old French); see mei-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

mis-²

pref.

Variant of miso-.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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