mistake

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance, or inattention

   They made a grave mistake.

2. 2
   noun

   an understanding of something that is not correct

   They were not going to admit their mistake.

3. 3
   verb

   identify incorrectly

   Don't mistake my twin for me again please.

4. 4
   verb

   To understand wrongly, taking one thing or person for another.

   Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.

5. 5
   verb

   To misunderstand (someone).

   Miſtake me not, my Lord, ’tis not my meaning / To raze one Title of your Honour out.

6. 6
   verb

   To commit an unintentional error; to do or think something wrong.

   Impoſe me to what penance your inuention / Can lay vpon my ſinne, yet ſinn’d I not / But in miſtaking.

7. 7
   verb

   To take or choose wrongly.

   The better act of purposes mistook / Is to mistake again; though indirect, / Yet indirection thereby grows direct,

8. 8
   noun

   An error.

   There were too many mistakes in the test, that unfortunately you failed.

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. Compare Swedish misstag (“mistake”, noun), Faroese mistak (“mitake”, noun), Icelandic mistak (“mistake”, noun).