▪ I. mistake, n.
(mɪˈsteɪk)
[f. next. Cf. Sw. misstag.]
1. a. properly, A misconception or misapprehension of the meaning of something; hence, an error or fault in thought or action.
| 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 337 We doe excuse small mistakes in them. a 1656 Ussher Lett. (1686) 505 ‘Upon the old Sabbath-day, or upon the Sunday’; by a strange kind of mistake, turning the Copulative into a Disjunctive. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Lady Rich 17 June, Your whole letter is full of mistakes from one end to the other. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) II. 5 It is easy for a profound philosopher to commit a mistake in his subtile reasonings. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 166 Mistakes in the description of the premises. 1856 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. II. iv. 134 There are not a few who make the great mistake of expecting too much of life. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 285 It will be thought..on wider grounds, that the measure was a mistake. 1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 29 It is a great mistake to think that a building looks better for being empty. |
† b. a mistake of: a misconception as to.
| 1649 in Def. Rights & Priv. Univ. Oxford (1690) 19 Mistakes of the manner and rules of proceeding. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iii. x. §16 Whatever Inconvenience follows from this Mistake of Words. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 502 ¶1 It cannot be called a Mistake of what is pleasant. 1771 Jenkins Cent. Rep. (ed. 3) ii. v. 57 For when the defendant appears, a mistake of the process to bring him to appear shall do no harm. |
c. In generalized use.
| 1671 Tillotson Serm. Pref. b 5 b, Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake in what it believes. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 32 But if, beneath the favour of mistake, Thy smile's sincere. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab vi. 30 Crime and misery are in yonder earth, Falsehood, mistake, and lust. |
d. An instance of a woman's becoming pregnant unintentionally; an unplanned baby.
| 1957 New Yorker 12 Jan. 30/3 Owing to a ‘mistake’, Bernadette was probably ‘caught’. She was beginning to ‘show’. 1959 Times 2 Mar. 5/3 We all know the baby is a ‘mistake’,..but surely it is a mistake which is understandable. 1963 in Sc. Nat. Dict. (1965) VI. 303/1 The peer lassie was pitten awa frae hame for makin a mistak. |
2. Phrases. † a. in, upon, or under a mistake: under a misapprehension. Obs.
| 1683 New Hampsh. Prov. Papers (1867) I. 460 It may be I may be upon a mistake, but, according to what I know and belive, I am falsely indited. 1683 H. Prideaux in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 185 That you may be under noe mistake as to him. 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 884 For what is vice? self-love in a mistake. 1777 Bentley's Phal. 328 note, Gronovius was under a mistake, in supposing the Romans had no such sum as a Talent in their accounts. 1822 Shelley tr. Calderon's Mag. Prodig. i. 32 You lie—under a mistake. 1839 Standard 12 Apr., Some timid conservatives..labour in the same mistake. |
b. by (rarely from, † in a) mistake: erroneously, mistakenly. Also in mistake for.
| 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. viii, It [sc. a tooth] was drawn by an unskilful Surgeon, in a Mistake. 1769 Junius Lett. xiii. (1771) I. 65 It is not that you do wrong by design, but that you should never do right by mistake. 1822 Cobbett Weekly Reg. 9 Mar. 579 In the year 1814; and not 1815, as I, from mistake, stated at Chichester. 1864 J. H. Newman Apol. 23 A story of a sane person being by mistake shut up in the wards of a Lunatic Asylum. 1906 Galsworthy Man of Property i. ii. 39 Old Jolyon..gave the driver a sovereign in mistake for a shilling. 1923 World's Work May 563/1, I remember looking at him and..expecting that I had been arrested in mistake for him. |
c. and no mistake: without any doubt, undoubtedly, for certain; used colloq. to emphasize a preceding statement. Also used attrib., (and-)no-mistake = undoubted, unquestionable. Also make no mistake (about) (something): have no doubt about it.
Often stressed (anomalously) on the syllable no.
| 1818 Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 15 He is the real thing and no mistake. 1837 Thackeray Ravenswing i, A tip-top swell, I can assure you, a regular bang-up chap, and no mistake. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. i, Yes, it's a magnificent Roman camp, and no mistake, with gates, and ditch, and mounds. 1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 412/1 Mary Ann was mad, an' no mistake. 1885 W. S. Gilbert Mikado ii. 27 Ah, pray make no mistake, We are not shy; We're very wide awake. 1911 G. B. Shaw Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet 390 It wont make any difference to us: make no mistake about that. 1962 Listener 27 Sept. 463/2 But the present terms do confront us with this choice: make no mistake about it. 1963 Ibid. 21 Feb. 341/1 Make no mistake about Mr Bennet: we are meant to disapprove thoroughly of his detachment. 1974 Times 22 Mar. 11/7 Make no mistake. We had a major work of television last night. |
| attrib. 1838 Thackeray Fashnable Fax Wks. 1900 XIII. 251 A reglar slap-up, no mistake, out-an'-out account of the manners and usitches of genteel society. 1848 ― Bk. Snobs xxiii, The real old original and-no-mistake nobility. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. xii, He is the real, genuine, no-mistake Osiris. |
3. mistake-free a.
| 1969 F. I. Dretske Seeing & Knowing ii. 63 What we might call a mistake-free way of seeing D. |
▪ II. mistake, v.
(mɪˈsteɪk)
Forms: see take v.
[a. ON. mistaka to take by mistake, refl. to miscarry (Sw. misstaga refl. to be mistaken), f. mis- = mis-1 + taka to take. For the uses cf. also OF. mesprendre (mod.F. méprendre).]
† 1. trans. To take wrongfully, wrongly, or in error. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 345 Þis office is dispised & cristes owne office is misse-taken. 1382 ― Deut. v. 11 Thow shalt not mystaak the name of the Lord thi God idillich. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 321 He haþ nouȝt mystake as his owne þat he haþ i-fonge for a tyme. 14.. Lat. Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 604/39 Presumptuo, to mystake. 1550 Crowley Way to Wealth 579 To make restitucion of that ye haue misse taken. 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair ii. ii, To be euer busie, and mis-take away the bottles and cannes..before they be halfe drunke off. a 1631 Donne Sat. v. Poems (1633) 348 To see a Pursivant come in, and call All his cloathes, Copes;..and all His Plate, Challices; and mistake them away. |
† 2. a. intr. To transgress, offend, do wrong. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 138 If þe Scottis kyng mistake in any braide Of treson in any þyng, ageyn Henry forsaid. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1540 Ladyes, I preye ensample taketh, Ye that ayeins your love mistaketh. c 1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 94 Aȝeins no Man she mystook,..Noiþer in word ne dede. c 1500 Melusine 29, I haue mystaken ouermoche anenst your noble personne. 1822 Scott Nigel iv, I think the knave mistook more out of conceit than of purpose. |
b. refl. (and pass.) in the same sense. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5145 Þaw y mystok me greuously, I prey þe of me haue þou mercy. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶852 We han so greetly mistaken us, and han offended..agayn your heigh lordshipe, that [etc.]. a 1400 Pety Job 116 in 26 Pol. Poems 124, I pray to the, Warne me when I am mystan. a 1425 Cursor M. 18788 (Trin.) His kyn wol he not forsake But we vs fouly mystake. |
3. To err in the choice of, as to mistake the or one's way (road): to take the wrong path. Similarly to mistake one's mark. Obs. or arch.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 35 That he mistake noght his gate. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 26 By negligence of the carters y{supt} mystooke y⊇ way. 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. xii. (Frowde) 314 It is very hard to find one in perfect plight, and that doth not alwaies mistake his marke and shute wide. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. cciii, [They] swallow in the fry, Which through their gaping jaws mistake the way. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vi. 393 When blind ambition quite mistakes her road. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest i, La Motte began to have apprehensions that his servant had mistaken the way. |
4. a. trans. To misunderstand the meaning of (a person); to attach a wrong meaning to the sayings or doings of (a person).
| 1402 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 97 And so thou mysse takist Jerom, and lyest on Bernarde. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 124 Erasmus..is mistaken of many, to the great hurt of studie, for his authoritie sake. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. v. 49 Why, thou whorson Asse, thou mistak'st me. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 312 [He] was mistaken, and his answer thrown to another sense. 1699 Bentley Phal. 460 There's no room for any suspicion, that he mistook his Author. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 557 Yet shun their fault, who, scandalously nice, Will needs mistake an author into vice. 1714 R. Fiddes Pract. Disc. ii. 207 The old serpent..was..out of his calculation, and mistook his man. 1821 Shelley Hellas 792 Mistake me not! All is contained in each. 1837 Browning Strafford i. ii, I was away, Mistook, maligned: how was the king to know? 1891 Pall Mall G. 30 Oct. 5/3 On the point of resignation he has mistaken me. |
† b. To have a wrong view of the character of (a person). Also with compl. Obs.
| 1589 Warner Alb. Eng. vi. xxix. 129 Let them take me wilfull, or mistake me wanton. 1622 Fletcher Beggar's Bush iv. i, Ger. Good fortune Master. Flo. Thou mistak'st me Clause, I am not worth thy blessing. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 535 No, mistake not your selves; so long as you are so unjust to others [etc.],..ye have no ground to hope that God will be so merciful to you. |
c. to mistake one's man: to judge incorrectly, or underestimate, the capabilities, character, etc., of the person with whom one has to deal.
| 1794 Mass. Spy 16 Apr. (Th.), If he supposes I am to be frightened by his pompous accusations, he has much mistaken his man. 1841 Congress. Globe 18 June 75/3 Mr. G. said that he was not to be coughed or cried down; gentlemen mistook their man if they supposed he was to be affected by the machinery of the political party. |
5. To have a misconception with regard to (an opinion, statement, action, purpose, etc.); to misapprehend the meaning or intention of; to take in a wrong sense, attach an erroneous meaning to.
| 1496 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 511/1 As though every of the said Shires and other wordes theryn mistaken, had be well taken. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 172 a, This Oration..was set forth in prynte, and John Calvine made a comentary to it, leste any man should mistake it. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 56 My Fathers purposes haue beene mistooke. 1610 ― Temp. ii. i. 56 He doth but mistake the truth totally. 1677 Dryden Apol. Heroic Poetry Ess. (ed. Ker) I. 179 They wholly mistake the nature of criticism who think its business is principally to find fault. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. Pref. 7 An argument may not readily be apprehended, which is different from its being mistaken. 1769 Junius Lett. xxii. 103 It sometimes may happen, that the judge may mistake the law. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 144 He over-rated the strength of his English connexion, and mistook the English character. 1880 Dixon Windsor IV. i. 2 He mistook the times in which he lived. |
6. To make a mistake; to be in error; to err in opinion or judgement; to be under a misapprehension; to take a wrong view. a. intr. Now somewhat arch.
| 1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 77, I think you mistake. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 94 Oh, cry you mercy sir, I haue mistooke. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows i. §42. 67 God can not mistake: the evill at which he is at any time angry is indeed evill. 1699 Bentley Phal. 326 That He was not the first, that made this (false) Discovery, but mistook after great Names, Goltzius, and Fazellus. 1732 Pope Ep. Cobham 210 Yet, in this search, the wisest may mistake, If second qualities for first they take. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. x. 85 If I don't mistake. 1819 Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 56 How; dead! he only sleeps; you mistake, brother. 1861 Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. XXX. 198 Professor Lassen mistakes as to the locality of this place. 1891 Speaker 2 May 532/2 If we mistake not, he has put the believers in the guilt of Richard III in a dilemma. |
b. pass. (to be mistaken, † mistook), and † refl. Const. in (rarely † of).
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 30 You are too much mistaken in this King. 1607 Dekker Knt.'s Conjur. (1842) 69 The destinies (who fought on their side) mistooke themselues, and in steede of striking the colours out of his hand, smote him. 1644 Gabriel Platters in Hartlib's Legacy (1655) 253 If I be not hugely mistaken, it is the self-same with..Saint-Foin. 1658 Cokaine Obstinate Lady v. iv. Poems (1874) 96 But I am much mistook; you are not she Whom here I was to meet. 1671 Milton Samson 907, I was a fool, too rash, and quite mistaken In what I thought would have succeeded best. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 154 That He who made it [sc. the earth], and revealed its date To Moses, was mistaken in its age. 1824 Hogg Conf. Sinner 188, I can never be mistaken of a character in whom I am interested. 1848 Dickens Dombey iv, You're mistaken I dare say. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 431 Plato, if I am not mistaken, was ill. |
† 7. trans. With direct obj. (or acc. and inf.) and compl.: To suppose erroneously to be or to do... Also pass. Obs.
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. viii. 55 For me he did mistake that Squire to bee. a 1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. Pref. (1640), The opinion of rudenesse and barbarisme, wherewith it [sc. our language] is mistaken to be diseas'd. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Warwickshire (1662) 124 Vincent of Coventrie was..bred a Franciscan (though Learned Leland mistakes him a Carmelite). 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 144 Some mistake the Aureliae of certain kinds of Butterflies to be the Aureliae of Ichneumon Flies. 1736 Butler Anal. ii. iii. 170 Lest I should be mistaken to vilify Reason. |
8. to mistake (a person or thing) for (some other person or thing): to suppose erroneously the former to be the latter; to substitute in thought or perception the latter for the former.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 82 You haue mistooke (my Lady) Polixenes for Leontes. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 181, I touched the poore mans box with my fingers..mistaking it for the Font of holy water. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxv. 131 They mistake the Precepts of Counsellours, for the Precepts of them that Command. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 120 ¶15 She [sc. a hen] mistakes a Piece of Chalk for an Egg, and sits upon it in the same manner. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ix, The effusions of gratitude she mistook for those of tenderness. 1828 Scott F. M. Perth xxii, Poor gossip Oliver often mistook friends for enemies. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 5 Those..who have the temperament which mistakes strong expression for strong judgment. |
9. a. To err as to the identity or nature of; to take to be somebody or something else; now usually in phr. there's no mistaking = it is impossible not to recognize.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. viii. 5 In hand she boldly tooke To make..Another Florimell, in shape and looke So lively and so like, that many it mistooke. 1633 Milton Arcades 4 What sudden blaze of majesty Is that which we from hence descry Too divine to be mistook. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 216 If white and black blend..is there no black or white?..Tis to mistake them, costs the time and pain. 1837 Dickens Pickw. ii, There was no mistaking the fact. 1874 Symonds Sk. Italy & Greece (1898) I. xv. 320 Another [astrologer] described him so accurately that there was no mistaking the man. |
b. To estimate wrongly.
| 1785 Burns Jolly Beggars 3rd Recit., I fear I my talent misteuk. |
† 10. To commit an error in regard to (a date, a number, etc.); to perform (an action) at a wrong time. Obs.
| 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4035/3 In the Circuit Gazette, the Day of the Month for the Assizes..is mistaken. 1726 Swift Gulliver iii. ii, He..brought my Clothes very ill made, and quite out of Shape, by happening to mistake a Figure in the Calculation. 1734 Seymour Compl. Gamester 79 He that mistakes his Stroke, loses 1, to that Side he is of. |
† 11. To bring by mistake into. Obs.
| 1663–9 Dryden Wild Gallant i. ii, Sure this fellow..was sent by Fortune to mistake me into so much money. 1667 ― Ind. Emp. Prol., Wks. 1725 I. 326 Grant us such Judges..As still mistake themselves into a Jest. |
† 12. To take amiss, object to. Obs.
| 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 245 Since I would be a maker of presents, she should do herself the honour to take it with her own hands and he would be very far from mistaking them, or taking it ill from his wife. |