misuse

Pronunciation

• Noun: /mɪsˈjuːs/^[1]
• Verb: /mɪsˈjuːz/^[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English misusen,^[2][3][4] formed from Middle English mis- (“badly, wrongly”) + usen (“to use”),^[5][4][3][2] and probably partly modelled on Old French mesuser (“to misuse, abuse”),^[5][4][2][3] from mes- (“mis-”) and user (“to use”).^[3] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from the second quarter of the 13th century.^[6] The noun was formed in the same way, from mis- and use, partly after mesus (“abuse, excess, misdeed”), recorded in 1283.^[5][4][3] Old French user comes from Vulgar Latin *ūsō, from the stem of Latin ūtor (“to make use of”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, to use wrongly or improperly and to treat badly, is first recorded in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, before 1382,^[5] and the noun, wrong or improper use, before 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^[5] Etymonline dates both to the late 14th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The Wycliffite Bible already used the verb for treating someone badly, for violating a woman and, until 1601, for deceiving.^[5][2] Etymonline dates "treat badly" only to the 1530s and the noun's sense "ill-treatment" to the 1590s,^[4] while the OED has the noun sense from 1591.^[5] In the 16th century the verb also meant to misbehave (1532–1605) and to abuse verbally (1583–1633), and the noun meant a misdeed (1509–1616).^[5] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as "bad use; bad treatment".^[7] In Scotland the verb kept the sense of ill-treating or injuring someone.^[8] The specific use for taking a drug excessively or for non-medical purposes is recorded for the noun from 1890 and for the verb from 1970.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1382 – verb, to use wrongly; to ill-treat; to deceive (obsolete by 1601).^[5]
• before 1398 – noun, wrong or improper use.^[5]
• 1509 – noun, a misdeed (obsolete by 1616).^[5]
• 1532 – verb, reflexive, to misbehave (obsolete by 1605).^[5]
• 1583 – verb, to abuse verbally (obsolete by 1633).^[5]
• 1591 – noun, ill-treatment.^[5]
• 1890 – noun, improper use of a drug.^[5]
• 1970 – verb, to take a drug improperly.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Wrong, careless or improper use: the misuse of statistics in advertising.^[9][3][5]
2. Improper or excessive use of a drug.^[5][10]
3. Cruel or harsh treatment.^[9][5]

Verb

1. To use wrongly or carelessly; to misapply: He often misuses long words.^[9][3][5]
2. To use for a wrong or improper purpose: to misuse public funds.^[3][5]
3. To treat badly or harshly; to abuse.^[9][5]
4. To take a drug or alcohol improperly or to excess.^[9][5][10]
5. (obsolete, 1382–1601) To deceive.^[5][2]

Word family

• misuser

Related words

• use
• misusage

References

1. ^ a b 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 f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press