English
mishear
Mishear comes from Old English mishīeran ‘to hear amiss, not listen to, disobey’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ḱh₂owsyéti‘to be sharp-eared, to hear well’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauzijaną‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauʀijan‘to hear’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīeran‘to listen with compliance or assent’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150mishīeranas mishȳran‘to hear amiss, not listen to, disobey’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misheren
- Englishearliest quotation 1883mishear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ḱh₂owsyéti‘to be sharp-eared, to hear well’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauzijaną‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauʀijan‘to hear’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīeran‘to listen with compliance or assent’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150mishīeranas mishȳran‘to hear amiss, not listen to, disobey’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misheren
- Englishearliest quotation 1883mishear
Earliest quotation: 1883, Meeds Tuthill: “And if any mishear or misutter it, even that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti ‘to be sharp-eared, to hear well’
through Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną ‘to hear’
Today it means
verb To hear wrongly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti / mishear