miscarry

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to lose an embryo or fetus spontaneously before it can survive independently

   The study examined whether a high radiation dose increased the risk that an animal would miscarry.

2. 2
   verb

   formal: to fail to achieve an intended result or reach a successful conclusion

   The plan miscarried because its central assumption was false.

From Middle English miscarien, formed from mis- ("wrongly, badly") + carry. The older general sense was to go wrong or come to harm; the pregnancy sense developed from a fetus being carried unsuccessfully.

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