amiss

amiss
amiss (adv.) mid-13c., amis "off the mark," also "out of order," lit. "on the miss," from a "in, on" (see A- (Cf. a-) (1)) + missen "fail to hit" (see MISS (Cf. miss) (v.)). To take (something) amiss originally (late 14c.) was "to miss the meaning of" (see MISTAKE (Cf. mistake)). Now it means "to misinterpret in a bad sense."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • amiss — amiss, astray share the meaning wrong or otherwise than intended. Amiss implies failure (as of an arrow) to reach the mark aimed at and frequently suggests a shortcoming or defect (as by failure to reach a standard, an expectation, a definite… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Amiss — A*miss , adv. [Pref. a + miss.] Astray; faultily; improperly; wrongly; ill. [1913 Webster] What error drives our eyes and ears amiss? Shak. [1913 Webster] Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss. James iv. 3. [1913 Webster] {To take (an act …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • amiss — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not quite right; inappropriate. ► ADVERB ▪ wrongly or inappropriately. ● not go amiss Cf. ↑not go amiss ● take amiss Cf. ↑take amiss …   English terms dictionary

  • Amiss — A*miss ([.a]*m[i^]s ), a. Wrong; faulty; out of order; improper; as, it may not be amiss to ask advice. Note: [Used only in the predicate.] Dryden. [1913 Webster] His wisdom and virtue can not always rectify that which is amiss in himself or his… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Amiss — A*miss , n. A fault, wrong, or mistake. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • amiss — [adj] wrong; defective awry, bad, confused, crooked, erring, erroneous, fallacious, false, faulty, flawed, foul, glitched up*, haywire, imperfect, improper, inaccurate, inappropriate, incorrect, mistaken, out of order, sick, unfair, unlawful,… …   New thesaurus

  • amiss — index astray, defective, disordered, errant, erroneous, faulty, improper, inaccurate, inappropriate …   Law dictionary

  • amiss — [ə mis′] adv. [ME amis, on mis: see A 1 & MISS1] in a wrong way; astray, wrongly, faultily, improperly, etc. adj. wrong, faulty, improper, etc.: used only in the predicate …   English World dictionary

  • amiss — a|miss1 [əˈmıs] adj [not before noun] [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: miss mistake, failure ] if something is amiss, there is a problem = ↑wrong ▪ Elsa continued as if nothing was amiss. amiss with/in ▪ There s something amiss in their relationship.… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • amiss — [[t]əmɪ̱s[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: v link ADJ If you say that something is amiss, you mean there is something wrong. Their instincts warned them something was amiss... Something is radically amiss in our health care system. Syn: wrong 2) PHRASE: V… …   English dictionary

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