mistake
English
Etymology
From Middle English mistaken, from Old Norse mistaka (“to take in error, to miscarry”); equivalent to mis- + take. Cognate with Icelandic mistaka (“to mistake”), Swedish missta (“to mistake”) (before apocope misstaga).
The noun, which replaced earlier mistaking, is derived from the verb.
Pronunciation
Verb
mistake (third-person singular simple present mistakes, present participle mistaking, simple past mistook, past participle mistaken)
- (transitive) To understand wrongly, taking one thing or person for another.
- Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.
- Don't mistake my kindness for weakness.
- c. 1597 William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2,[1]
- My father’s purposes have been mistook;
- 1777, Samuel Johnson, “Life of the Author” in The Works of Richard Savage with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author, London: T. Evans, Volume I, p. lxi,[2]
- The reigning error of his life was, that he mistook the love for the practice of virtue, and was indeed not so much a good man, as the friend of goodness.
- (transitive, obsolete) To misunderstand (someone).
- c. 1595 William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act II, Scene 3,[3]
- Mistake me not, my lord; ’tis not my meaning
- To raze one title of your honour out:
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Dublin: John Smith, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 6, pp. 122-123,[4]
- […] at last she so evidently demonstrated her Affection to him to be much stronger than what she bore her own Son, that it was impossible to mistake her any longer.
- c. 1595 William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act II, Scene 3,[3]
- (intransitive, obsolete) To commit an unintentional error; to do or think something wrong.
- c. 1598 William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act V, Scene 1,[5]
- Impose me to what penance your invention
- Can lay upon my sin: yet sinn’d I not
- But in mistaking.
- 1720, Jonathan Swift, “Letter to a Young Clergyman” in The Works of Jonathan Swift, London: Charles Elliot, 1784, Volume 10, pp. 6-7,[6]
- No gentleman thinks it is safe or prudent to send a servant with a message, without repeating it more than once, and endeavouring to put it into terms brought down to the capacity of the bearer; yet, after all this care, it is frequent for servants to mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstandings among friends […]
- c. 1598 William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act V, Scene 1,[5]
- (obsolete, rare) To take or choose wrongly.
- c. 1596 William Shakespeare, King John, Act III, Scene 1,[7]
- The better act of purposes mistook
- Is to mistake again; though indirect,
- Yet indirection thereby grows direct,
- 1716, Alexander Pope (translator), The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 2, Book 8, lines 151-152, p. 252,[8]
- The Spear with erring Haste mistook its way,
- But plung’d in Eniopeus’ Bosom lay.
- c. 1596 William Shakespeare, King John, Act III, Scene 1,[7]
Translations
to take one thing for another
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To make an error
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Related terms
Noun
mistake (plural mistakes)
- An error; a blunder.
- 1877, Henry Heth, quoting Robert E. Lee, in "Causes of the Defeat of Gen. Lee's Army at the Battle of GettysburgOpinions of Leading Confederate Soldiers.", Southern Historical Society Papers (1877), editor Rev. J. WM. Jones [9]
- After it is all over, as stupid a fellow as I am can see that mistakes were made. I notice, however, that my mistakes are never told me until it is too late.
- 1877, Henry Heth, quoting Robert E. Lee, in "Causes of the Defeat of Gen. Lee's Army at the Battle of GettysburgOpinions of Leading Confederate Soldiers.", Southern Historical Society Papers (1877), editor Rev. J. WM. Jones [9]
- (baseball) A pitch which was intended to be pitched in a hard-to-hit location, but instead ends up in an easy-to-hit place.
Usage notes
- Usually make a mistake. See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:error
Derived terms
Translations
an error
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Anagrams
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English mistake.
Noun
mistake m (plural mistakes)
Categories:
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