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misfall. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
misfall, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
misfall in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English misfallen, equivalent to mis- + fall. Cognate with Dutch misvallen (“to misfall, miss in falling, displease, miscarry”), German missfallen (“to displease”), Icelandic misfalla (“to misuse”).
Pronunciation
Verb
misfall (third-person singular simple present misfalls, present participle misfalling, simple past misfell, past participle misfallen)
- (transitive, intransitive) To befall badly or incorrectly; happen unfortunately (to); mishappen; turn out badly.
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. , part II (books IV–VI), London: [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 4, page 257:Sometime ſhe feared, leaſt ſome hard miſhap / Had him misfalne in his aduenturous queſt; [...]
1889, Henry Morley, Early prose romances:[...] let us abide together that, one with the counsel and that other with the deed, then may there nothing misfall to usward.
2009, Eric B. Hare, Skyscrapers:However, the principal and his students worked hard, and they soon had the buildings in shape for use and the farm doing as well as possible. Then a terrible misfortune misfell one of the neighbors who was most bitter in his tirades.
Noun
misfall (plural misfalls)
- A mishap; accident; bad luck; misfortune.
1875, Julian Hawthorne, Saxon studies:But alas! an unlooked- for misfall has occurred."
Anagrams