misunderstand

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English misunderstonden, also misunderstanden,^[2][3] formed from Middle English mis- (“badly, wrongly”) + understonden (“to understand”),^[4][3][5][2] that is, mis- and understand.^[5][6][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To take something, especially Holy Writ, in a wrong sense: before 1225, in the Middle English Vices and Virtues, which says that some misunderstand this holy writing.^[2][5] Etymonline dates the word about 1200.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb meant both to misinterpret and to fail to understand.^[2][5] In the 14th century it was also used of misreading a person's words or actions, and intransitively, in the Cursor Mundi.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to misconceive; to mistake", quoting Hooker and Raleigh.^[8] The noun misunderstanding is recorded from the 15th century.^[7] A noun misunderstand, a misunderstanding, was used from 1819, in a letter of Keats, to 1886.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1225 – to fail to understand rightly, to misinterpret (Vices and Virtues).^[5][2] Etymonline dates it about 1200.^[4]
• before 1400 – to misinterpret a person; also intransitive (Cursor Mundi).^[5]
• 1400s – the noun misunderstanding.^[7]
• 1819 – noun, a misunderstanding (used until 1886).^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To fail to understand correctly; to take words or actions in the wrong sense: She misunderstood the directions and took the wrong train.^[3][9][5]
2. To misinterpret what a person says or does: Don't misunderstand me.^[3][5][6]
3. To fail to understand, without an object.^[3][5][6]

Word family

• misunderstander
• misunderstanding

Related words

• understand
• mis-

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins