mistaken.
/mᵻˈsteɪk/, U.S. /məˈsteɪk/ a. A misconception about the meaning of something; a thing incorrectly done or thought; an error of judgement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > [noun] > instance of
misconceit?1435
miscollectinga1600
mistake1600
miscollection1610
misimagination1618
misimpression1670
mal-entendu1780
cross-reading1784
misconcept1942
misprision1973
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [noun]
misnimming?c1225
errora1340
defaulta1387
balkc1430
fault1523
jeofail1546
errat1548
trip1548
naught1557
missa1568
missinga1568
slide1570
snappera1572
amiss1576
mistaking1579
misprize1590
mistake1600
berry-block1603
solecism1603
fallibility1608
stumblea1612
blota1657
slur1662
incorrectnessa1771
bumble1823
skew1869
(to make) a false step1875
slip-up1909
ricket1958
bad1981
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. ii. xiii. 40 Nothing had saved him but the mistake of the Assassinate.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 337 We doe excuse small mistakes in them.
a1656 J. Ussher Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. ccv. 505 ‘Upon the old Sabbath-day, or upon the Sunday’; by a strange kind of mistake, turning the Copulative into a Disjunctive.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 June (1965) I. 368 Your whole Letter is full of mistakes from one end to 'tother.
1748 D. Hume Philos. Ess. Human Understanding 4 'Tis easy for a profound Philosopher to commit a Mistake in his subtile Reasonings.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 116 Mistakes in the description of the premises.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 285 It will be thought..on wider grounds, that the measure was a mistake.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 29 It is a great mistake to think that a building looks better for being empty.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xvii. 190 Please excuse mistakes because my spelling isn't very good yet, although much improoved.
1933 Punch 16 Aug. 174/1 The alternative method..is for me to have a quiet talk with Rustum and show him he is making a big mistake.
1987 D. Rowe Beyond Fear viii. 298 He could not admit that he made mistakes and he put all the responsibility onto his wife.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > [noun]
mistakinga1400
misconceivinga1425
misunderstandingc1443
misweening1493
misknowledgea1500
misconstructiona1535
misconstruinga1535
misinterpreting1563
misinterpretation1576
mispersuasion1593
misconceit1596
a mistake of1614
misconcept1616
misinference1627
misinferring1627
misapprehension1629
misconception1658
misrendering1661
misapprehending1702
misperception1722
misintelligence1779
misthinking1788
misreading1832
miscomprehension1843
criss-cross1877
misconstrual1950
1614 Replye answering Def. Serm. 43 As for his cavils against his owne Argument, framed..vpon a mistake of his Refuters meaning..I will remove them out of the way, least any one should stomble at them.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 245 Whatever inconvenience follows from this mistake of Words.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 502. ¶1 It cannot be called a Mistake of what is pleasant.
1734 T. Barlow tr. D. Jenkins Eight Cent. of Rep. (ed. 2) ii. v. 57 For when the Defendant appears, a Mistake of the Process to bring him to appear shall do no Harm.
1877 H. H. Boyesen Tales from Two Hemispheres i. v. 50 If he was guilty of an innocent witticism or a little quaintness of expression, she always assumed it to be a mistake of terms.
c. In generalized use: misapprehension, misunderstanding; error, misjudgement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [noun] > being astray, error
woughc888
dwalec950
dwildOE
wharfedlaikc1175
dwele?c1225
dwelth?c1225
misfarea1387
wilsomenessa1400
mistake1635
fallacy1645
solecism1649
mistakenness1865
1635 T. Jackson Humiliation Sonne of God 309 From mistake of letters, or abbreviatures by the Transcribers.
1671 J. Tillotson Serm. Pref. b 5 b Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake in what it believes.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xvii. 347 His Maker, who would have him use those discerning Faculties he has given him, to keep him out of Mistake and Errour.
1745 E. Young Consolation 3 But if, beneath the Favour of Mistake, Thy Smile's sincere.
1798 M. Wollstonecraft Maria I. i Doubt gathered still thicker on the brow of her guard, as she attempted to convict her of mistake.
1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab vi. 74 Crime and misery are in yonder earth, Falsehood, mistake, and lust.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 164/2 One must remember the possibilities of mistake intervening between the facts and the accounts reaching its author.
1982 London Rev. Bks. 1 Apr. 21/3 Great historical events stem more often from mistake than from cynical calculation.
d. concrete. In predicative use: something chosen through an error of judgement; a badly selected thing, a regrettable choice.
ΚΠ
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch III. lvi. 246 How could I know, when I was fifteen, what it would be right for me to do now? My education was a mistake.
1897 K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket iv. 148 A weak, springy [bat] handle is a mistake. A handle should bend like the butt-end of a good fly-rod.
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xxxvii. 295 ‘The carpet's a mistake,’ announced Helen...‘This floor ought to be bare. It is far too beautiful.’
1933 N. Coward Design for Living ii. iii. 67 That world cruise was a fatal mistake.
1947 K. Patchen See you in Morning 160 That third malted was a mistake.
1990 R. Doyle Snapper (1993) 90 The tenner, he knew now, was a big mistake.—Yeh know. A present. No hard feelin's, yeh know.
e. colloquial or euphemistic. An instance of a woman's becoming pregnant unintentionally; an unplanned baby. Cf. accident n. 8e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [noun] > accidental
mistake1957
accident1978
1957 New Yorker 12 Jan. 30/3 Owing to a ‘mistake’, Bernadette was probably ‘caught’. She was beginning to ‘show’.
1959 Times 2 Mar. 5/3 We all know the baby is a ‘mistake’,..but surely it is a mistake which is understandable.
1963 in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 303/1 The peer lassie was pitten awa frae hame for makin a mistak.
2000 Cincinnati Enquirer (Nexis) 28 Nov. b1 Team leader Malania Copeland recently encouraged a couple of teens talking about unexpected pregnancies to describe their children as surprises, rather than mistakes or accidents.
Phrases
P1. by (rarely from, †in a) mistake: erroneously, mistakenly, in error. in mistake for: in error for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [adverb]
adwolec1275
amissc1275
mislichec1275
out of the waya1450
erroneously1512
perperously1657
mistakenly1660
by (rarely from, in a) mistake1678
1678 Young Man's Calling 13 The young man by mistake fondly calls it Naomi, and says it is pleasant.
1707 Boston News-let. 3 Mar. 2/1 The Squaw lately taken by Col. Hilton in his former Expidition, unhappily received a Wound from one of our men by mistake.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. viii. 158 A Tooth..was drawn by an unskilful Surgeon in a Mistake.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters ii. 141 Some having taken this water in a mistake,..it has vomitted and purged them.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xiii. 76 It is not that you do wrong by design, but that you should never do right by mistake.
1822 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 9 Mar. 579 In the year 1814; and not 1815, as I, from mistake, stated at Chichester.
1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 23 A story of a sane person being by mistake shut up in the wards of a Lunatic Asylum.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 321/1 The American flag..was by mistake hoisted ‘union down’.
1906 J. Galsworthy Man of Prop. i. ii. 39 Old Jolyon..gave the driver a sovereign in mistake for a shilling.
1971 F. D. Ommanney Lost Leviathan ii. 39 It is also known..as the Minke whale after a whaling gunner named Meincke who accidentally shot one in mistake for a Blue.
2000 N. DeMille Lion's Game xiii. 108 If anybody hits it by mistake, they're in big trouble.
P2. in (also under, †upon) a mistake: under a misapprehension. Also †upon mistake. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > [adverb]
beside (or wide of) the cushion1576
in (also under, upon) a mistake1622
mistakenly1660
misunderstandinglya1667
mistakably1844
misapprehendingly1862
misapprehensively1862
1622 L. Digges tr. G. de Céspedes y Meneses Gerardo 325 Still some feare of my misfortune remained: and that, I hold to bee the seuerest, when vpon mistake, worse faults are discouered.
1683 in N. Bouton Provinc. Papers New-Hampsh. (1867) I. 460 It may be I may be upon a mistake, but, according to what I know and belive, I am falsely indited.
1683 H. Prideaux in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 185 That you may be under noe mistake as to him.
1745 E. Young Complaint: Night the Eighth 44 For what is Vice? Self-Love in a Mistake.
1777 Bentley's Phal. 328 (note) Gronovius was under a mistake, in supposing the Romans had no such sum as a Talent in their accounts.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. P. Calderon Scenes from Magico Prodigioso in Posthumous Poems (1824) 364 You lie—under a mistake.
1839 Standard 12 Apr. Some timid conservatives..labour in the same mistake.
1883 W. D. Latto Bodkin Papers ii. 17 Never was I in a greater mistak' in a' my life.
1885 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 29 457 There was no evidence that the lease was executed under any mistake.
1944 W. T. Cresswell in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder xv. 419/1 A contract made under a mistake may be avoided.
P3. colloquial. (and) no mistake: without any doubt, undoubtedly, for certain. Used to emphasize the validity of a preceding statement. Also attributive (sometimes with omission of and).Often stressed on the syllable no.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > of course, certainly [phrase]
to iwissea1000
mid iwissea1000
in wisc1000
to wis(se)c1000
without(en (any) weenc1175
sans fail1297
thereof no strife1297
but werea1300
forouten werea1300
out of werea1300
without werea1300
without deceit1303
for certainc1320
it is to wittingc1320
withouten carec1320
without nayc1330
without noc1330
without (but out of) dread1340
no doubtc1380
without distancec1390
no fresea1400
out of doubta1400
without doubta1400
for, (in, at obs.), of, to (a) certaintyc1400
withouten stance14..
hazel woods shakea1413
of, on, in warrantisec1440
sure enough?1440
without question?1440
wythout diswerec1440
without any dispayrec1470
for (also of) a surety?a1475
in (also for) surenessa1475
of certainc1485
without any (also all) naya1500
out of question?1526
past question?1526
for sure1534
what else1540
beyond (also out of, past, without) (all) peradventure1542
to be a bidden by1549
out of (also without) all cry1565
with a witness1579
upon my word1591
no question1594
out of all suspicion1600
for a certain1608
without scruple1612
to be sure1615
that's pos1710
in course1722
beyond (all) question1817
(and) no mistake1818
no two ways about it (also that)1818
of course1823
bien entendu1844
yessiree1846
you bet you1857
make no mistake1876
acourse1883
sans doute1890
how are you?1918
you bet your bippy1968
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > absolute certainty > [adverb]
withouten wantrukea1225
without missa1275
dreadlessc1369
doubtlessc1386
certainlya1400
sadly?a1425
questionlessc1425
undoubtablyc1425
doubtlesslyc1440
unsoilablyc1445
undoubtablec1450
undoubteda1500
undoubtedly?a1500
infallibly1502
indefeasibly1540
undubitately1548
indubitatelya1552
undoubting1552
undoubtingly1552
indoubtedly1563
indoubtly1606
unquestionably1611
questionlessly1612
indubitably1624
undoubtfully1628
uncontrollably1629
irrefragably1635
ungainsayably1637
inquestionablya1641
indubiously1642
unquestionedly1644
incontrollably1646
incontrovertibly1646
indisputably1646
acknowledgedly?1649
inexpugnably1653
uncontrovertablya1658
undubitably1660
inconfutably1664
uncontrollably1676
irrefutably1681
uncontestedly1699
undisputably1707
uncontestably1709
incontestablya1711
uncontrovertibly1755
undisputedly1778
(and) no mistake1818
unchallengeably1827
without resort1827
undeniedly1837
unappealably1840
indubitativelya1853
irrecusably1862
uncontradictably1862
inescapably1881
unarguably1888
sho1893
sure1894
posilutely1914
hands down1936
1818 Lady Morgan in Passages from Autobiogr. (1859) 15 He is the real thing and no mistake.
1838 W. M. Thackeray Fashnable Fax in Wks. (1900) XIII. 251 A reglar slap-up, no mistake, out-an'-out account of the manners and usitches of genteel society.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table xii. 336 He is the real, genuine, no-mistake Osiris.
1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 412/1 Mary Ann was mad, an' no mistake.
1937 E. Garnett Family from One End Street ix. 178 He looks a treat and no mistake—all dressed up like a dog's dinner.
1945 Chambers's Jrnl. 554/2 This girl, no mistake about it, had got under his skin to a depth that no other had ever penetrated.
1997 J-17 June 41 (heading) The laws of ladland can be a right blimmin' mystery and no mistake!
P4. make no mistake: have no doubt (about something).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > of course, certainly [phrase]
to iwissea1000
mid iwissea1000
in wisc1000
to wis(se)c1000
without(en (any) weenc1175
sans fail1297
thereof no strife1297
but werea1300
forouten werea1300
out of werea1300
without werea1300
without deceit1303
for certainc1320
it is to wittingc1320
withouten carec1320
without nayc1330
without noc1330
without (but out of) dread1340
no doubtc1380
without distancec1390
no fresea1400
out of doubta1400
without doubta1400
for, (in, at obs.), of, to (a) certaintyc1400
withouten stance14..
hazel woods shakea1413
of, on, in warrantisec1440
sure enough?1440
without question?1440
wythout diswerec1440
without any dispayrec1470
for (also of) a surety?a1475
in (also for) surenessa1475
of certainc1485
without any (also all) naya1500
out of question?1526
past question?1526
for sure1534
what else1540
beyond (also out of, past, without) (all) peradventure1542
to be a bidden by1549
out of (also without) all cry1565
with a witness1579
upon my word1591
no question1594
out of all suspicion1600
for a certain1608
without scruple1612
to be sure1615
that's pos1710
in course1722
beyond (all) question1817
(and) no mistake1818
no two ways about it (also that)1818
of course1823
bien entendu1844
yessiree1846
you bet you1857
make no mistake1876
acourse1883
sans doute1890
how are you?1918
you bet your bippy1968
1876 L. Grover Our Boarding House in America's Lost Plays (1940) IV. 204 I shall buy 20,000 bushels on the Street before the Board opens,..make no mistake.
1885 W. S. Gilbert Mikado ii. 27 Ah, pray make no mistake, We are not shy; We're very wide awake.
1911 G. B. Shaw Shewing-up Blanco Posnet in Doctor's Dilemma 390 It wont make any difference to us: make no mistake about that.
1974 Times 22 Mar. 11/7 Make no mistake. We had a major work of television last night.
1983 N.Y. Times 6 Sept. a 1/6 Make no mistake about it, this attack was not just against ourselves.
Compounds
mistake-free adj. without mistakes, free of mistakes.
ΚΠ
1969 F. I. Dretske Seeing & Knowing ii. 63 What we might call a mistake-free way of seeing D.
1994 New Yorker 2 May 60/3 He played steady, mistake-free golf over the first nine.
mistake-prone adj. having a tendency to make mistakes.
ΚΠ
1974 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 13 Oct. c12/1 The cool quarterbacking of Tom Doyle..completely frustrated the mistake-prone Bruins.
1993 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 10 July a11/2 The mistake-prone president avoided embarrassing gaffes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
mistakev.
/mᵻˈsteɪk/, U.S. /məˈsteɪk/ a. transitive. To take improperly, wrongfully, or in error. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > take [verb (transitive)] > taken in error
mistakea1382
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > take wrongly, mistake [verb (transitive)] > do wrongly
misworkc1300
mistakea1382
abuse1548
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. v. 11 Þou shalt not mystake þe name of þe lord þy god ydullich.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 321 He haþ nouȝt mystake as his owne þat he haþ i-fonge for a tyme.
c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 345 (MED) Cristes owne office is misse-taken; for now prestis prechen not to þise men þat ben conuertid bi grace of crist.
1550 R. Crowley Way to Wealth sig. Bvi To make restitucion of that ye haue misse taken.
a1631 J. Donne Poems (1633) 348 To see a Pursivant come in, and call All his cloathes, Copes;..and all His Plate, Challices; and mistake them away.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre ii. ii. 19 in Wks. II To be euer busie, and mis-take away the bottles and cannes, in hast, before they be halfe drunke off.
1678 True Narr. Proc. Old-Bayly Began 16 Oct. 5 A Yorkshire lass having to gratifie a sweet tooth mistaken a sugar-loaf from a Grocer's, was found guilty.
b. transitive. To object to, take amiss. Obsolete. rare.In quot. a1616 the sense initially intended is that of 4a. By means of a pun on take v. 76, however, the usage is subsequently reinterpreted as ‘to take amiss’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > be displeased with [verb (transitive)]
mislikea1225
displease1377
to take agrief?a1400
to take in grievinga1400
to like illc1425
to take grief witha1556
mind1562
disconceit1625
to take heinously1632
mistake1725
lump1833
thank1874
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. v. 40 Ber. It may bee you haue mistaken him my Lord. Laf. And shall doe so euer, though I tooke him at's prayers. View more context for this quotation]
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 70 Since I would be a Maker of Presents, she should do herself the Honour to take it with her own Hands, and he wou'd be very far from mistaking them, or taking it ill from his Wife.
a. intransitive. To transgress, offend, do wrong. Obsolete (Scottish in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > [verb (intransitive)]
guiltc825
misdoOE
misfereOE
misnimc1225
trespass1303
forfeita1325
misguiltc1330
misworka1375
transverse1377
offendc1384
mistakec1390
faulta1400
commit1449
misprize1485
digress1541
transgress1662
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do evil or wrong [verb (intransitive)] > transgress or offend
guiltc825
sinc825
to break a bruchec1225
trespass1303
forfeita1325
folly1357
misworka1375
transverse1377
offendc1384
mistakec1390
faulta1400
commit1449
misprize1485
transgress1526
digress1541
misdeal1573
to commit (also do, make) an offence1841
overstep1931
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do evil or wrong [verb (reflexive)] > transgress or offend
mistakec1390
c1390 (c1300) MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 278 (MED) He maad a cristen mon mis take And cristendom al forsake.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 138 (MED) If þe Scottis kyng mistake in any braide Of treson..ageyn Henry forsaid.
c1400 Life St. Alexius (Laud 622) (1878) 94 Aȝeins no Man she mystook,..Noiþer in word ne dede.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 1540 Ladyes, I preye ensample takith, Ye that ageyns youre love mistakith.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 29 (MED) I haue mystaken ouermoche anenst your noble personne.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. iv. 94 I think the knave mistook more out of conceit than of purpose.
b. transitive (reflexive) in the same sense. Also (occasionally) in passive. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 3008 We han so gretly mystaken vs and han offended..ageyn youre heye lordshipe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 18788 (MED) His kyn wol he not forsake But we vs fouly mystake.
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 5145 (MED) Suffre me nought schamely to deye, Þaw y mystok me greuously.
?a1475 Lessons of Dirige (Douce) 116 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 124 (MED) Warne me when I am mystan, That I may flee fro foule sathan.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 36 (MED) Whanne man mystakith hymself ayeinste God, it makith man subiecte and bonde to all thingis.
3. transitive. To make an error in the choice of (one's way, route, etc.). †to mistake one's mark: to miss one's target (obsolete). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > misjudge [verb (transitive)]
mistakea1393
mischoosec1422
misaccounta1425
misweigha1475
mistakea1500
misjudge1526
misesteema1595
miscountc1600
misdoom1609
misvalue1614
misrepute1629
misratea1641
mismeasure1743
mistake?a1786
misappreciate1828
misestimate1841
misgauge1870
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 1001 That he mistake noght his gate.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xxvj By negligence of the carters yt mystooke ye way.
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 328 It is very hard to find one in perfect plight, and that doth not alwaies mistake his marke and shute wide.
1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 cciii. 52 [They] swallow in the frie, Which through their gaping jaws mistake the way.
1744 E. Young Complaint: Night the Sixth 21 When blind Ambition quite mistakes her Road.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 33 La Motte began to have apprehensions that his servant had mistaken the way.
1869 J. C. Tinne Internat. Training (1923) 9 Rowed hard down to Whitchurch, with the exception of one unintentional easy halfway, owing to the fact of the cox. mistaking the way we wished to go.
1989 C. Harkness Time of Grace vii. 106 Euphorically tipsy on ale, the vicar mistook his way to the gentleman's lavatories.
4.
a. transitive. To misunderstand the meaning of (a person); to attach a wrong meaning to the words or actions of (a person).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > misinterpret [verb (transitive)]
misunderstanda1225
mistake1402
misconstruea1425
miskenc1480
misgloze1532
misinterpret1547
missense1560
wrest1563
misdeem1570
misconceive1586
misconstruct1596
misinfer1597
misconceit1598
misknowa1600
to look beyond1600
lose1600
mismean1605
misprize1609
misread1612
misween1614
misimagine1626
misapprehend1628
construea1640
mislead1654
equivocate1665
misrender1674
misaccept1697
miscomprehend1813
read1879
misperceive1911
1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 97 Thou mysse takist Jerom, and lyest on Bernarde.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 81 Or hough may thei abide [the] comyng of Him which thei haue mystaken, seyng that their hope is voyde.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 49v Erasmus..is mistaken of many, to the great hurt of studie, for his authoritie sake.
1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 60 (margin) Hipocrates is missensed or mistooke.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. v. 41 Why, thou whorson Asse, thou mistak'st me. View more context for this quotation
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 460 There's no room for any suspicion, that he mistook his Author.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 32 Yet shun their Fault, who, Scandalously nice, Will needs mistake an Author into Vice.
1714 R. Fiddes Pract. Disc. (ed. 2) II. 207 The old serpent..was..out of his calculation, and mistook his man.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 39 Mistake me not! All is contained in each.
1863 R. Browning Strafford (rev. ed.) i. ii, in Poet. Wks. (ed. 3) II. 524 I was away, Mistook, maligned, how was the King to know?
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Oct. 5/3 On the point of resignation he has mistaken me.
1937 R. K. Narayan Bachelor of Arts i. 25 I was only trying to suggest that people saw humour even where he was serious. So please don't mistake me.
b. transitive. To have a misconception with regard to (an opinion, statement, action, purpose, etc.); to misapprehend the meaning or intention of; to take in a wrong sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > take wrongly, mistake [verb (transitive)]
misnim?c1225
misfangc1275
mistake?a1475
mismean1605
misplace1609
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. lxi. f. 41v (MED) Neuerþeles, þat oþer men mistake nouȝt þis þat I seye, þerfore I schal seyen it more openli.
1496 Rolls of Parl. VI. 511/1 As though every of the said Shires and other wordes theryn mistaken, had be well taken.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clxxij This Oration..was set forth in prynte, and Iohn Caluine made a comentary to it, leste any man should mistake it.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 282 My fathers purposes haue beene mistooke . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 62 He doth but mistake the truth totally. View more context for this quotation
1677 J. Dryden Authors Apol. Heroique Poetry in State Innocence Pref. sig. bv They wholly mistake the Nature of Criticism, who think its business is principally to find fault.
1729 Bp. J. Butler Serm. in Wks. (1874) II. Pref. 7 An argument may not readily be apprehended, which is different from its being mistaken.
1769 W. Blackstone in ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xxii. 161 It sometimes may happen that the judge may mistake the law.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. I. 217 Signs not to be mistaken indicated that the great conflict..was about to be brought to a final issue.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 144 He over-rated the strength of his English connexion, and mistook the English character.
1880 W. H. Dixon Royal Windsor (ed. 3) IV. i. 2 He mistook the times in which he lived.
1946 A. J. Ayer Lang., Truth & Logic 11 My reasoning on this point was not in itself incorrect, but I think that I mistook its purport.
1986 A. Harding Also Georgiana (1988) xv. 215 I could not mistake her hard appraising look.
5. † a. transitive. To have a wrong view of the character of (a person). Also with complement. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > misjudge [verb (transitive)]
mistakea1393
mischoosec1422
misaccounta1425
misweigha1475
mistakea1500
misjudge1526
misesteema1595
miscountc1600
misdoom1609
misvalue1614
misrepute1629
misratea1641
mismeasure1743
mistake?a1786
misappreciate1828
misestimate1841
misgauge1870
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 77 (MED) For which som killid themself..and mystoke themself constaunt in aduersite.
1589 W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) vi. xxix. 129 Let them take me wilfull, or mistake me wanton.
a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Beggers Bush iv. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ll4v/1 Ger. Good fortune Master. Flo. Thou mistak'st me Clause, I am not worth thy blessing.
c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 535 No, mistake not your selves; so long as you are so unjust to others [etc.],..ye have no ground to hope that God will be so merciful to you.
b. to mistake one's man (also woman): to judge incorrectly or underestimate the character or capabilities of the person with whom one is dealing.
ΚΠ
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife iv. 73 Both she and I say you must not design it again, for you have mistaken your woman, as you have done your man.
1794 Massachusetts Spy 16 Apr. If he supposes I am to be frightened by his pompous accusations, he has much mistaken his man.
1841 Congress. Globe 18 June 75/3 Mr. G. said that he was not to be coughed or cried down; gentlemen mistook their man if they supposed he was to be affected by the machinery of the political party.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker x. 160 ‘Mr. Pinkerton, sir!’ exclaimed the offended attorney; and indeed, I myself was almost afraid that Jim had mistaken his man and gone too far.
1993 M. Bragg Crystal Rooms (BNC) 136 ‘Certificates have been won.’ ‘And pinned no doubt like knicker-trophies to your bedroom wall.’ ‘You mistake your man. Truly.’
6.
a. intransitive. To make a mistake; to be in error; to err in opinion or judgement; to be under a misapprehension; to take a wrong view. Now somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > misinterpret [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
misweena1325
misconceivec1395
misunderstanda1400
misthinka1530
missavour1540
mistake1548
writhe1561
misconstrue1581
misapprehend1658
misconstruct1678
misobserve1693
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > be mistaken, err [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
haltc900
marOE
slidea1000
misfangOE
missOE
to have wough?c1225
misnimc1225
misrekec1275
mis-startc1275
err1303
to go wrongc1340
misgo1340
slipc1340
snapperc1380
forvay1390
to miss of ——c1395
to make a balkc1430
to run in ——1496
trip1509
fault1530
mistake1548
misreckon1584
misstep1605
warpa1616
solecize1627
hallucinate1652
nod1677
to go will1724
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)a1849
slip1890
skid1920
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxxiiii In their computacion they had mistaken and miscounted in their nomber an hundreth yeres.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 77 I think you mistake.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 93 Oh, cry you mercy sir, I haue mistooke.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes i. §42. 67 God can not mistake: the evill at which he is at any time angry is indeed evill.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 326 That He was not the first, that made this (false) Discovery, but mistook after great Names, Goltzius, and Fazellus.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Visct. Cobham 11 Yet, in this search, the wisest may mistake, If second Qualities for first they take.
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague I. xi. 65 ‘You mistake, brother,’ said he; ‘we are subjects to no prince.’
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 73 How; dead! he only sleeps; you mistake, brother.
1861 Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. 30 198 Professor Lassen mistakes as to the locality of this place.
1891 Speaker 2 May 532/2 If we mistake not, he has put the believers in the guilt of Richard III in a dilemma.
1937 D. L. Sayers Zeal of thy House iv. 95 Prior: Son, they mistake Who think God hates those bodies which he made.
b. transitive (in passive) in the same sense. Also (now Scottish) reflexive. Frequently with about, in (rarely †of).
ΚΠ
1606 T. Dekker Newes from Hell sig. H3v The destinies (who fought on their side) mistooke themselues, and in stead of striking the Colours out of his hand, smote him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. iv. 30 You are too much mistaken in this King. View more context for this quotation
1644 G. Plattes in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 253 If I be not hugely mistaken, it is the self-same with..Saint-Foin.
1657 A. Cokayne Obstinate Lady v. iv. 57 But I am much mistook! you are not she whom here I was to meet.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 907 I was a fool, too rash, and quite mistaken In what I thought would have succeeded best. View more context for this quotation
1764 G. G. Beekman Let. 30 Nov. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 478 I Look upon your Outstanding Debts to be good, yet we are often mistaken in the best of men.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 154 That He who made it [sc. the earth], and revealed its date To Moses, was mistaken in its age.
1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 188 I can never be mistaken of a character in whom I am interested.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iv. 6 You're mistaken I dare say.
1899 J. B. Salmond My Man, Sandy 52 ‘Dinna mistak yersel,’ says Bandy in laich.
1930 D. L. Sayers Strong Poison ii. 30 Or you may think that the prisoner was mistaken, or not speaking the truth, about the time he left the flat.
1963 in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 302/3 I mistook mysel and landit at the ither eyn o The toun.
1984 B. Reid So Much Love vi. 81 They were, however, mistaken about one thing.
7. to mistake (a person or thing) for (some other person or thing): to suppose erroneously the former to be the latter; to identify wrongly as. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > believe (suppose wrongly) [verb (transitive)] > that one thing is another
to mistake (a person or thing) for1559
misdeem1668
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 178 I coniecture yt Plini in this place did mistake schistum the stone, for schistum an alum.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum sig. ¶.iiii/2 Kalixtus..ordained the foure yeerely fasts, about Anno Domini. 220. if mine authour haue not mistaken this Kalixtus for some other.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 83 You haue mistooke (my Lady) Polixenes for Leontes. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 181 I touched the poore mans box with my fingers..mistaking it for the Font of holy water.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxv. 131 They mistake..the Precepts of Counsellours, for the Precepts of them that Command.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 120. ¶15 She [sc. a Hen] mistakes a Piece of Chalk for an Egg, and sits upon it in the same Manner.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. iv. 143 The effusions of gratitude she mistook for those of tenderness.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 297 Poor gossip Oliver often mistook friends for enemies.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 5 Those..who have the temperament which mistakes strong expression for strong judgment.
1945 J. Agate Diary 10 July in Selective Ego (1976) 216 Yonnel..looks every inch an actor; you couldn't possibly mistake him for anything else.
2000 Daily Tel. 24 July 3/3 They can be mistaken for leprosy but there is no doubt here.
8. † b. transitive. To estimate wrongly. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To be under a misconception as to the identity or nature of; to take to be somebody or something else. Now only in there is no mistaking: it is impossible not to recognize.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > incorrect information > report or state wrongly [verb (transitive)] > mistake identity of
misknowc1330
miskenc1550
mistake1569
nickname1598
misidentify1895
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f. 108 The Oxe and Asse, which acknowledge their maister, but Israel hath mystaken and not knowen hir Lorde.
1587 J. White in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) iii. 767 They said, they knew our men mistooke them, and hurt them in steede of Winginos men, wherefore they held vs excused.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. viii. sig. Kk2 In hand she boldly tooke To make..Another Florimell, in shape and looke So liuely and so like, that many it mistooke.
1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 52 What sudden blaze of majesty Is that which we from hence descry Too divine to be mistook.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man ii. 200 If white and black, blend..is there no Black or White?.. Tis to mistake them, costs the Time and Pain.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 17 There was no mistaking the fact.
1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. xv. 320 Another [astrologer] described him so accurately that there was no mistaking the man.
1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xi. 188 It was he who did not belong any more. There was no mistaking it.
1977 P. Kavanagh By Night Unstarred xiii. 92 There were carts rolling along the road in the distance but not his cart; he couldn't mistake the roll of his own cart's axle.
1986 Sunday Express Mag. 2 Nov. 42/3 There's no mistaking his love for the old city of Liverpool.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > misjudge [verb (transitive)]
mistakea1393
mischoosec1422
misaccounta1425
misweigha1475
mistakea1500
misjudge1526
misesteema1595
miscountc1600
misdoom1609
misvalue1614
misrepute1629
misratea1641
mismeasure1743
mistake?a1786
misappreciate1828
misestimate1841
misgauge1870
?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 199 I fear I my talent misteuk.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > believe (suppose wrongly) [verb (transitive)]
mislevea1200
misdeema1400
mistake1596
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > be mistaken, err [verb (intransitive)] > be mistaken
misbethinka1300
deceivec1315
misreckon1530
overshoot1535
mistake1596
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. viii. sig. H6 For me he did mistake that Squire to bee. View more context for this quotation
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. Pref., in Wks. (1640) III The opinion of Rudenesse, and Barbarisme, wherewith it [sc. our language] is mistaken to be diseas'd.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) 124 Vincent of Coventrie was..bred a Franciscan (though Learned Leland mistakes him a Carmelite).
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 144 Some mistake the Aureliae of certain kinds of Butterflies to be the Aureliae of Ichneumon Flies.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. iii. 170 Lest I should be mistaken to vilify Reason.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [verb (transitive)] > bring into specific condition by
doc1175
labour?c1500
force1551
work1599
mistake1667
worry1727
1667 J. Dryden Indian Emperour Prol. sig. A4v Grant us such Judges..As still mistake themselves into a jest.
1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant i. i. 8 Sure this Fellow..was sent by Fortune to mistake me into so much Money.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > miscalculate [verb (transitive)]
mistella1475
mischargec1495
misreckon1524
miscount1548
miscast1605
misnumber1614
miscompute1637
mistake1704
miscalculate1727
under-estimate1812
1704 London Gaz. No. 4035/3 In the Circuit Gazette, the Day of the Month for the Assizes..is mistaken.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. ii. 24 He..brought my Cloths very ill made, and quite out of shape, by happening to mistake a Figure in the Calculation.
1734 R. Seymour Compl. Gamester 79 He that mistakes his Stroke, loses 1, to that Side he is of.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1600
v.a1382