misgesture

English

Etymology

mis- +‎ gesture

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪsˈd͡ʒɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)/, /mɪsˈd͡ʒɛstjʊə(r)/

Verb

misgesture (third-person singular simple present misgestures, present participle misgesturing, simple past and past participle misgestured)

1. To make the wrong gesture.
   • 1621, Joseph Hall, Meditations and Vowes Divine and Morall, page 824:

     This flesh of ours is not a good feruant, vnlesse it helpe vs in the best offices: The God of Spirits doth most respect the soule of our deuotion; yet, it is both vnmannerly and irreligious, to be misgestured in our Prayers.

   • 2008, John Clement, Creative Model Construction in Scientists and Students, page 195:

     He emphasizes as evidence the fact that people sometimes misspeak with a correct gesture, but very rarely misgesture with correct speech.

   • 2014, Jill H. Rathus, Alec L. Miller, DBT® Skills Manual for Adolescents, page 117:

     Anyone who misspeaks or misgestures, while trying to maintain a reasonably fast pace, is out of this portion of the exercise.

   • 2015, Ian Bogost, The Geek's Chihuahua: Living with Apple:

     Touch here? Stroke there? Stop here? Do it again? The impressive fragility of the device only reinforces this sense — to do it wrong by dropping or misgesturing might lead to unknown consequences.

Noun

misgesture (plural misgestures)

1. A gesture that is made in error.
   • 1977, Mohammed Mughisuddin, Conflict and Cooperation in the Persian Gulf, page 52:

     From Faisal's perspective, a more dramatic “misgesture” on the part of the Americans was needed before the oil weapon would be employed.

   • 2013, Steve Erickson, Tours of the Black Clock:

     He understood that if she was as bad as the instructors and professors on the committee claimed, then there were a hundred misturns, missteps and misgestures she would have made that she did not.