misword

English

Etymology 1

mis- +‎ word; formed separately from Etymology 2.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪsˈwɜːd/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪsˈwɚd/

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

• misphrase
• misstate

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪsˌwɜːd/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪsˌwɚd/

Noun

misword (plural miswords)

1. (obsolete, in later use dialectal) An insult.
   • 1659-1661, Thomas Rugge, Diurnal‎^[1]:

     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^[2], 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^[3], 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