misdov.
/ˌmɪsˈduː/, U.S. /ˌmɪsˈdu/ Now rare.† 4. transitive. To harm or mistreat physically; to destroy, put out of existence. Also (reflexive): to injure or kill oneself. Obsolete.Often difficult to distinguish from sense 3a.
1. intransitive. To do evil or wrong, transgress. Formerly also: †to do harm or injury to (also unto, against, till) (obsolete). In later use archaic and English regional (Somerset).
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
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > [verb (intransitive)] > by committing an offence
misdoOE
misdeal1573
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do evil or wrong [verb (intransitive)]
misdoOE
lithera1300
malignc1425
to do (also play the) naught1594
to hold a candle to the devil1598
OE Wulfstan Homily: Larspell (Corpus Cambr. 421) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 270 Ac to fela is þæra, þe ær þisan misdydan.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Durste nan man misdon wið oðer on his time.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6146 Ȝiff þe preost missdoþ. het shall. Wiþþ cristess hellpe betenn.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3555 He hauen sineged and misdon.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 7914 (MED) Ga to dauid king and sai He has misdon again mi lai.
c1455 Burgh Laws (Adv.) c. 35 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Gif ony man of the castell misdois till a burges.
c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 436 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 235 [He] with-stud in na degre agane þame þat in ony thing til hyme mysded.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 261 There nys none that may say that euer we mysdyde..ayenst our souerayne lord.
1561 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc i. i I knowe nothynge at all, Wher in I haue misdone vnto his Grace.
1618 G. Wither Wither's Motto in Juvenilia (1633) 531 To see my Friend misdoe, I want not eyes, Nor Love to cover his infirmities.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd i. 225 The erring Soul Not wilfully mis-doing, but unware Misled. View more context for this quotation
1677 J. Dryden State Innocence v. i. 39 I have misdone; and I endure the smart.
1878 in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 83 Oh, Earth and Heaven are far apart But what if they were one, And neither you nor I, Sweetheart, Had anyway misdone?
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) I be safe he never widn a misdo'd.
1916 C. M. Doughty Titans iv. 107 None practiseth against other, none misdoeth.
2.
a. transitive. With indefinite object: to do badly, wrongly, unjustly, or improperly.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do wrongfully or amiss [verb (transitive)]
aguiltOE
misdoOE
misworkc1300
sinc1315
usec1330
erra1340
trespass14..
OE Laws of Æðelred II (Claud.) vi. lii. §1. 258 Gif hit geweorþeð, þæt man unwilles oþþe ungewealdes ænig þing misdeð, na bið þæt na gelic þam þe willes & gewealdes sylfwilles misdeð.
lOE Distichs of Cato (Trin. Cambr.) xxxvii, in Anglia (1972) 90 10 Gif þu hwæt on þin druncen misdo, ne wit þu hit no ðam ealoð, forðon ðu his weolde þe sylf.
a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 99 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 165 (MED) Al þet we misduden her ho hit wulleð kuðe þere.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10077 (MED) Erl Ion..bisouȝte is grace of þat he adde misdo.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 2385 (MED) Godd it thee foryive if thou have eny thing misdo Touchende of this.
a1400 (?a1325) Medit. on Supper of our Lord (Harl.) (1875) 462 (MED) What haþ he mysdo to dey þus?
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) f. 124v (MED) Þai are kissed & frendes; al is forgifen þat was misdone.
1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. (1557) 225/1 The thinges that they mysdo.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. D3 O poore Horatio, what hadst thou misdoone?
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 911 To shew what recompence Towards thee I intend for what I have misdone . View more context for this quotation
1837 T. Carlyle in Lett. Jane W. Carlyle (1883) I. 70 I know not whether this book is worth anything, nor what the world will do with it, or misdo.
1873 H. B. Stowe Women Sacred Hist. ii. 119 Afford me place to show what recompense Towards thee I intend for what I have misdone.
1983 R. Ellmann Uses of Decadence 9 When the Victorians were infernally busy in misdoing everything, what really needed to be recognized was what he called ‘the importance of doing absolutely nothing’.
b. transitive. To do (work) or perform (a duty) badly or improperly.
ΚΠ
1815 T. Carlyle Early Letters (1886) I. 11 As to my schoolmaster function, it was never said that I misdid it much.
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes iv. 194 The work committed to him will be misdone.
1893 Advance (Chicago) 23 Mar. To misapprehend and mis-do the duty now fronting us.
1995 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 30 Apr. b1 Their commitment to writing..inspires rage at deeds misdone.
3. † b. transitive. To weaken or damage (something). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To do evil or wrong to (a person); to harm, injure, wrong. Formerly also: †to sin against (God) (obsolete). Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > harm, injury, or wrong > harm, injure, or commit offence against [verb (transitive)]
misdoc1230
forworkc1275
wrongc1330
to do (one) spite or a spitec1380
to commit (also do, make) an offencec1384
offenda1387
unrighta1393
to do disease toc1400
injuryc1484
offence1512
misfease1571
watcha1586
injure1597
envya1625
disserve1637
hinder1639
disservice1837
serve1887
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [verb (transitive)] > to person or thing
werdec725
wemc900
forworkOE
evilc1000
teenOE
grievec1230
misdoc1230
mischievec1325
shond1338
endamagec1374
unrighta1393
damagea1400
disvail14..
disavail1429
mischief1437
outrayc1440
prejudice1447
abuse?1473
injuryc1484
danger1488
prejudicate1553
damnify?a1562
wrack1562
inviolate1569
mislestc1573
indemnify1583
qualify1584
interess1587
buse1589
violence1592
injure1597
bane1601
envya1625
prejudiciala1637
founder1655
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 66 Ȝef ei mon oðer wummon misseide oðer misdude ow.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 22456 Ich þe wolle loke to, þat no king ne sal þe mis-do [c1275 Calig. woh don].
a1350 (?c1280) Conception of Mary (Ashm.) 257 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1875) 1st Ser. 78 I nele noȝt misdo, wenne it mot be so nede.
J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (York Min.) (1901) 370 To be tholemode when men misdos us.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 252 Misdoth he no man ne with his mouth greueth.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 242 Shall none myssedo you, madam, that to me longis.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 637/1 I nouther mysded hym nor myssayd him.
1597 J. Lyly Woman in Moone iii. i. 24 Pardon me, That I misdid thee in my witles rage.
1987 R. Ellmann Oscar Wilde 551 English law had misdone him by punishment, and English society finished him off by ostracism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)]
mareOE
shendOE
hinderc1000
amarOE
awemc1275
noyc1300
touchc1300
bleche1340
blemisha1375
spill1377
misdoa1387
grieve1390
damagea1400
despoil?a1400
matea1400
snapea1400
mankc1400
overthrowa1425
tamec1430
undermine1430
blunder1440
depaira1460
adommage?1473
endamage1477
prejudicec1487
fulyie1488
martyra1500
dyscrase?1504
corrupt1526
mangle1534
danger1538
destroy1542
spoil1563
ruinate1564
ruin1567
wrake1570
injury1579
bane1587
massacre1589
ravish1594
wrong1595
rifle1604
tainta1616
mutilea1618
to do violence toa1625
flaw1665
stun1676
quail1682
maul1694
moil1698
damnify1712
margullie1721
maul1782
buga1790
mux1806
queer1818
batter1840
puckeroo1840
rim-rack1841
pretty1868
garbage1899
savage1899
to do in1905
strafe1915
mash1924
blow1943
nuke1967
mung1969
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 111 Mysbyleued men mysdede neuere þat chirche.
?c1450 (c1425) Brut (Harl. 24) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1874) 52 12 The walles were so stronge that noo man myght hem mysdoo.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)]
swevec725
quelmeOE
slayc893
quelleOE
of-falleOE
ofslayeOE
aquellc950
ayeteeOE
spillc950
beliveOE
to bring (also do) of (one's) life-dayOE
fordoa1000
forfarea1000
asweveOE
drepeOE
forleseOE
martyrOE
to do (also i-do, draw) of lifeOE
bringc1175
off-quellc1175
quenchc1175
forswelta1225
adeadc1225
to bring of daysc1225
to do to deathc1225
to draw (a person) to deathc1225
murder?c1225
aslayc1275
forferec1275
to lay to ground, to earth (Sc. at eird)c1275
martyrc1300
strangle1303
destroya1325
misdoa1325
killc1330
tailc1330
to take the life of (also fro)c1330
enda1340
to kill to (into, unto) death1362
brittena1375
deadc1374
to ding to deathc1380
mortifya1382
perisha1387
to dight to death1393
colea1400
fella1400
kill out (away, down, up)a1400
to slay up or downa1400
swelta1400
voida1400
deliverc1400
starvec1425
jugylc1440
morta1450
to bring to, on, or upon (one's) bierc1480
to put offc1485
to-slaya1500
to make away with1502
to put (a person or thing) to silencec1503
rida1513
to put downa1525
to hang out of the way1528
dispatch?1529
strikea1535
occidea1538
to firk to death, (out) of lifec1540
to fling to deathc1540
extinct1548
to make out of the way1551
to fet offa1556
to cut offc1565
to make away?1566
occise1575
spoil1578
senda1586
to put away1588
exanimate1593
unmortalize1593
speed1594
unlive1594
execute1597
dislive1598
extinguish1598
to lay along1599
to make hence1605
conclude1606
kill off1607
disanimate1609
feeze1609
to smite, stab in, under the fifth rib1611
to kill dead1615
transporta1616
spatch1616
to take off1619
mactate1623
to make meat of1632
to turn up1642
inanimate1647
pop1649
enecate1657
cadaverate1658
expedite1678
to make dog's meat of1679
to make mincemeat of1709
sluice1749
finisha1753
royna1770
still1778
do1780
deaden1807
deathifyc1810
to lay out1829
cool1833
to use up1833
puckeroo1840
to rub out1840
cadaverize1841
to put under the sod1847
suicide1852
outkill1860
to fix1875
to put under1879
corpse1884
stiffen1888
tip1891
to do away with1899
to take out1900
stretch1902
red-light1906
huff1919
to knock rotten1919
skittle1919
liquidate1924
clip1927
to set over1931
creasea1935
ice1941
lose1942
to put to sleep1942
zap1942
hit1955
to take down1967
wax1968
trash1973
ace1975
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)]
to bring to noughteOE
forspillc893
fordilghec900
to bring to naughtOE
astryea1200
stroyc1200
forferec1275
misdoa1325
destroyc1330
naught1340
dingc1380
beshenda1400
devoida1400
unshapea1400
to wend downa1400
brittenc1400
unloukc1400
perishc1426
defeat1435
unmake1439
lithc1450
spend1481
kill1530
to shend ofc1540
quade1565
to make away1566
discreate1570
wrake1570
wracka1586
unwork1587
gaster1609
defease1621
unbe1624
uncreate1633
destructa1638
naufragate1648
stifle1725
stramash1788
disannul1794
destructify1841
locust1868
to knock out1944
dick1972
the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [verb (reflexive)]
murderc1175
spill1390
spoil1578
to make away1581
massacre1591
misdo1599
self-murder1648
to lay violent hands on (or upon)1662
to make away with1667
to rip up1807
suicide1818
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2642 Ðis crune is broken, ðis is misdon.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 5325 (MED) Þe kyng onon dude crye Þat non mysdone hem ne sholde.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 185 Crowned kynge, myssedo no messyngers.
?1571 tr. G. Buchanan Detectioun Marie Quene of Scottes sig. Hjv Neyther to despeire nor vtherwise mair cruelly to misdoe to himselfe.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. L2 Faire Isabella by her selfe misdone.
1599 Warning for Faire Women ii. 669 Is not The better part of me by me misdone? My husband, is he not slaine?
1599 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. King Edward IV sig. R4v Dround in a butte of Malmesey? that is strange, Doubtlesse he neuer would misdoe himselfe?
1613 J. Davies Muses-teares sig. D 2 b Seuere Torquatus, did his Sonne mis-do For charging, 'gainst his Chardge, his brauing Fo.
1619 in J. B. Heath Acct. Worshipful Company Grocers (1829) App. 348 A burial-place for children dying without baptism, and for such as had misdone themselves.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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v.OE