mischief English · revision 1953

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪsˌt͡ʃiːf/, /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪf/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪf/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''mischef'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|meschief|t=misfortune]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''meschever'' “to come to grief, end badly”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''mes-'' “badly”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and ''chever'' “to happen, come to an end”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Vulgar Latin ''*capare'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[la|caput|t=head]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is the opposite of [[achieve]].^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Evil plight or misfortune, trouble or distress, often need or poverty (before 1300).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning has softened over time.^(Etymonline) In Middle English to be “full of mischief” was to be miserable.^(Etymonline) From the late 15th century it meant harm caused by some agent (1480),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and later a person or thing causing harm or annoyance.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The playful sense, behaviour that causes petty annoyance, is recorded from 1784.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ''Mischievous'' followed a similar path, from “calamitous” (before 1350) to “playfully troublesome” (1676).^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1300 – misfortune, distress.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1350 – ''mischievous'', calamitous.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1480 – harm done by an agent.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1676 – ''mischievous'', playful.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1784 – playful malice.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Behaviour, especially playful, that causes annoyance or trouble.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tendency to tease or play pranks.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # Harm or damage caused by a person or thing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person or thing that causes minor trouble.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mischief-maker]]

+ * [[mischievous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[achieve]]

+ * [[chief]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}