Mis- \Mis-\ [In words of Teutonic origin, fr. AS. mis-; akin to
D. mis-, G. miss-, OHG. missa-, missi-, Icel. & Dan. mis-,
Sw. miss-, Goth. missa-; orig., a p. p. from the root of G.
meiden to shun, OHG. m[=i]dan, AS. m[=i]?an (????. Cf. Miss
to fail of). In words from the French, fr. OF. mes-, F.
m['e]-, mes-, fr. L. minus less (see Minus). In present
usage these two prefixes are commonly confounded.]
A prefix used adjectively and adverbially in the sense of
amiss, wrong, ill, wrongly, unsuitably; as, misdeed, mislead,
mischief, miscreant.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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