misword

English

Etymology 1

mis- + word; formed separately from Etymology 2.

Pronunciation

Verb

misword (third-person singular simple present miswords, present participle miswording, simple past and past participle misworded)

  1. (transitive) To word incorrectly.
    I misworded my offer: I meant help, not rescue.
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From Middle English mysword; equivalent to mis- + word.

Pronunciation

Noun

misword (plural miswords)

  1. (obsolete, in later use dialectal) An insult.
    • 1659-1661, Thomas Rugge, Diurnal:
      He then came down, took away his ladder, not a misword said to him, and by whose order it was done was not then known.
    • 1846, “The Young Market-Woman”, in Belford Regis; Or, Sketches of a Country Town, Richard Bentley, page 237:
      And, as for yourself, Master Matthew, why I 've known you these fifty years, and never heard man, woman, or child speak a misword of you in my life.
    • 1934, Alfred Allen Brockington, Mysticism and Poetry on a Basis of Experience, Kennikat Press, page 24:
      A woman who used to work in my house told me that she 'never 'ad a misword with her 'usband.'

Middle English

Noun

misword

  1. Alternative form of mysword
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