misaddressv.
/ˌmɪsəˈdrɛs/, U.S. /ˌmɪsəˈdrɛs/ transitive. To address (a person) wrongly; to address (a letter, etc.) incorrectly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > speak to or address [verb (transitive)] > wrongly or impertinently
misaddress1659
1659 R. Boyle Some Motives & Incentives to Love of God 51 A fervent Love seems little else, then Devotion mis-addrest.
1885 R. McConkey Hero of Cowpens xxiv. 228 These..cautions seem singularly misaddressed, to the man who had never been known to be surprised from Quebec to Cowpens.
1910 Daily Chron. 2 Mar. 9 Mis-address a postcard to that number in her road, inhabited by her special neighbourly antipathy.
1970 18th-cent. Stud. 3 460 Letters to Mrs. Jewkes and to Pamela (25th day, misaddressed so that Pamela gets to see both) pour out his outraged love and pride.
1986 Washington Post 18 May g1 The bride feels insulted by everyone who misaddresses her.
1997 What Investm. Mar. 1020/3 Some find that correspondence from firms, often containing personal or financially sensitive information, is misaddressed so that it goes astray or ends up in the hands of third parties.
Derivatives
misaˈddressed adj. (esp. of a letter) wrongly addressed.
ΚΠ
1892 R. L. Stevenson Vailima Lett. (1895) 163 Receiving misaddressed letters.
1988 DM News 15 Mar. 60 The dentist had failed to put the proper endorsement on the direct mail piece, so he wouldn't be getting those misaddressed stacks back.
misaˈddressing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > sending items > [noun] > addressing letter > incorrectly
misaddressing1858
misdirection1860
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. v. 225 This one [letter]..by mere misaddressing,..fell into the hands of vigilant Rittmeister Katte.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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