misunderstand (v.)

"understand amiss, attach a false meaning to; fail to understand," c. 1200, misunderstonde, from mis- (1) "badly, wrongly" + understand. Related: Misunderstood; misunderstanding.

also from c. 1200

Entries linking to misunderstand

misunderstanding (n.)

"want of understanding, mistake as to the meaning of something," mid-15c., misunderstonding, verbal noun from misunderstand.

When misunderstanding serves others as an advantage, one is helpless to make oneself understood .... [Lionel Trilling, "Art and Fortune," 1948]

Meaning "dissension, a disagreement, a quarrel" is recorded by 1640s.

misunderstood (adj.)

"improperly understood, taken in a wrong sense," 1590s, past-participle adjective from misunderstand.

understand

mis-

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Trends of misunderstand

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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understand

Old English understandan "to comprehend, grasp the idea of, receive from a word or words or from a sign the idea it is intended to convey; to view in a certain way," probably literally "stand in the midst of," from under + standan "to stand" (see stand (v.)). If this is the meani

mistake

mid-14c., "to commit an offense;" late 14c., "to misunderstand, misinterpret, take in a wrong sense," from mis- (1) "badly...

philosophy

insight into the workings of our language, and that in such a way that these workings are recognized — despite an urge to misunderstand...

interpret

late 14c., "expound the meaning of, render clear or explicit," from Old French interpreter "explain; translate" (13c.) and directly from Latin interpretari "explain, expound, understand," from interpres "agent, translator," from inter "between" (see inter-) + second element proba

construe

late 14c., "to arrange the words of (a translation) in their natural order," hence "to interpret, explain, understand the meaning of," from Late Latin construere "to relate grammatically," in classical Latin "to build up, pile together," from assimilated form of com "with, togeth

see

Middle English sēn, from Old English seon (Anglian sean) "be or become aware of by means of the eye; look, behold;" also "perceive mentally, understand; experience; visit (a place); inspect" (contracted class V strong verb; past tense seah, past participle sewen), from Proto-Germ

Rasputin

acquired name (Russian, literally "debauchee") of Grigory Yefimovich Novykh (c. 1872-1916), mystic and faith healer who held sway over court of Nicholas II of Russia. His nickname is from his doctrine of "rebirth through sin," that true holy communion must be preceded by immersio

almond

kernel of the fruit of the almond tree, c. 1300, from Old French almande, amande, earlier alemondle "almond," from Vulgar Latin *amendla, *amandula, from Latin amygdala (plural), from Greek amygdalos "an almond tree," a word of unknown origin, perhaps from Semitic. Late Old Engli

epitome

1520s, "an abstract; brief statement of the chief points of some writing," from French épitomé (16c.), from Latin epitome "an abridgment," from Greek epitome "an abridgment, a cutting on the surface; brief summary," from epitemnein "cut short, abridge," from epi "into" (see epi-)

icon

also ikon, 1570s, "image, figure, picture," also "statue," from Late Latin icon, from Greek eikon "likeness, image, portrait; image in a mirror; a semblance, phantom image;" in philosophy, "an image in the mind," related to eikenai "be like, look like," which is of uncertain orig

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updated on February 03, 2019

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MIT

Mitchell