▪ I. misprision1
(mɪˈsprɪʒən)
Also 5–6 mes-, mys(se-.
[a. AF. mesprisioun (whence Law-Latin misprisio) = OF. mesprison, -prision mistake, error, wrong action or speech:—popular L. *minuspræhensiōnem, n. of action f. *minuspræhendĕre (OF. mesprendre to mistake, act wrongly, mod.F. méprendre): see mis-2 and prehend v.]
1. Law. A wrong action or omission; spec. a misdemeanour or failure of duty on the part of a public official.
| 1425 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 306/2 Suche misprisions and defautes of ye said Sherefs. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 22 §1 Mesprision by hym commytted and doon ayenst the Kynges moost royal persone. 1622 Callis Stat. Sewers (1647) 120 To pronounce a Traytors judgement upon a Fellon, or a Fellons judgement upon a Traytor, is grand misprision. 1648 Coke On Litt. iii. lxv. 139 If any man in Westminster Hall [etc.]..shall draw a weapon upon a Judge, or Justice, though he strike not; this is a great misprision. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. xvi. II. 476 All defaults and misprisions whereby the king was injured or the law broken. |
b. misprision of treason, of felony: originally, an offence or misdemeanour akin to treason or felony, but involving a lesser degree of guilt, and not liable to the capital penalty. As various statutes enacted that concealment of a person's knowledge of treasonable actions or designs should be regarded as misprision of treason, this term came to be used as the ordinary designation for such concealment.
Hence it was often supposed that the word misprision itself expressed the sense of ‘failure to denounce’ a crime. This imagined sense Sir E. Coke (followed by Blackstone) attempted to account for etymologically, assuming that the word was derived from the OF. mespris (mod.F. mépris: cf. misprize n.1 and v.1) neglect, contempt.
| 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 22 §9 Yf any person..being commaunded..to take the seid othe..obstynatly refuse that to doo..that every suche refusall shalbe..adjudged mesprysion of high treason. 1551–2 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 11 Provided also..that concealment or kepinge secrete of any Highe Treason be deemed and taken only mysprision of Treason. 1572 Act 14 Eliz. c. 3 That yf any person or persons hereafter..counterfayte any suche kind of Coygne..as is not the proper Coigne of this Realme... That then everye suche Offence shalbee deemed and adjudged mysprision of Highe Treason. 1579 Expos. Termes of Law s.v., Misprision of felonie or trespasse. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 119 Misprisions..are..generally understood to be all such high offences as are under the degree of capital, but nearly bordering thereon: and it is said, that a misprision is contained in every treason and felony whatsoever; and that, if the king so please, the offender may be proceeded against for the misprision only. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! II. vi. 176 Amyas was guilty of something very like misprision of treason in not handing him over to the nearest justice. |
¶ c. transf. in popular use.
| a 1662 Heylin Laud (1668) 54 It was almost made an Heresie..for any one to be seen in his company, and a misprision of Heresie to give him a civil Salutation as he walked the Streets. 1769 Junius Lett. ii. 12 A sort of misprision of treason against society. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. ii. i. (1866) 134 The edict..provided against all misprision of heresy by making those who failed to betray the suspected liable to the same punishment as if suspected or convicted themselves. 1862 T. A. Trollope Marietta I. ix. 153 Guilty of mis-prision of flirting. |
† 2. Wrongful capture. Obs.
| 1442 Rolls of Parlt. V. 60/1 How..awners of divers Shippes, that have, be commaundement of the Kynges Counseill, sent their Shippes to the See, and they nought sette in their Shippes Maisters ne Maryners, for their mesprision on the See were putte in grete trouble. |
3. The mistaking one thing, word, etc., for another; a misunderstanding; a mistake. arch.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 98 A Feuer in your bloud! why then incision Would let her out in Sawcers, sweet misprision. 1590 ― Mids. N. iii. ii. 90. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 17 By the misprision of the Brewer of English hoppes for Flemish hoppes. 1624 Sanderson Serm. I. 170 An earthly judge is subject to misprision, mis-information, partiality, corruption. 1630 Capt. Smith Trav. & Adv. Ep. Ded., To prevent therefore all future misprisons, I have compiled this true discourse. 1644 Bulwer Chiron. 121 To use the Middle-Finger instead of the Index..is much to be condemned... Paschalius alluding to the same misprision of the Hand [etc.]. 1655 tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion xii. 30 He intended to have foysted into his Chamber the Coffer..but by misprision he hid it in the Chamber of Raymond. 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. II. 410 The fable of the Horse certainly arose from a misprision of terms. 1817 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 114 Lady Jersey goes on calling Lord Morley Boringdon, and..he endures this misprision. 1846 J. C. Hare Mission of Comforter (1850) 193 The misprision of this passage has aided in fostering the delusive notion. |
b. misprision of the clerk: a clerical error.
[In Britton (I. 317, 318) AF. mesprisioun is used with reference to misnomer: mesprisioun de nouns, de vile.]
| 1543 tr. Act 14 Edw. III, c. 6 That by the misprision of the clerkes of euery place, no proces shalbe adnulled or discontinued, by mistakinge in writynge one syllable or one letter to moche or to lytle. 1543 tr. Act 8 Hen. VI, c. 15. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Misprision of Clerks, a Neglect or Default of Clerks in Writing, Engrossing or keeping Records. |
† c. A malformation: app. regarded as a mistake on the part of Nature. Obs.
| 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 16 To preserve what is according to Nature, and in case of misprision to reduce unto the Naturall state. Ibid. 212 These misprisions of Nature in this Organical part. |
¶ d. Unjust suspicion.
| 1657 Trapp Comm. Esther v. 2 Neither did he command her to the block, as Henry the eighth did his Anne Bullen, upon a meer misprision of disloyalty. 1705 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 156 Any temporary Misprisons we may for a short time (till the reason of the thing be duly considered) lye under at home. |
▪ II. misprision2 arch.
(mɪˈsprɪʒən)
[f. misprize v.1 after prec.]
a. Contempt, scorn. b. Failure to appreciate or recognize as valuable.
| 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1595) 119 [Such men] do of seruants become sawcie:..of aduisers, arrogant: & consequently, running into euery misprision of others. 1601 Shakes. All's Well ii. iii. 159 That dost in vile misprision shackle vp My loue, and her desert. 1692 Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. 19 The Legions particularly had in great misprision the Adversaries Horse. 1815 Scott Guy M. iii, Those..persons who..have their hearts barred against conviction by prejudice and misprision. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 301 Peleus sister alike and brother in high misprision Held. 1895 Zangwill Master i. viii. 96 It seemed an insult to Ruth Hailey, and a misprision of her kindly wishes. |