mischief
pronunciation
How to pronounce mischief in British English:
UK [ˈmɪstʃɪf]
How to pronounce mischief in American English:
US [ˈmɪstʃɪf]
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- Noun:
- reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
- the quality or nature of being harmful or evil
Word Origin
- mischief
- mischief: [13] Etymologically, mischief is something that ‘happens amiss’. The word comes from Old French meschef, a derivative of the verb meschever ‘meet with misfortune’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix mis- ‘wrongly, amiss’ and chever ‘happen’ (which came ultimately from Latin caput ‘head’, and etymologically meant ‘come to a head’). It still meant ‘misfortune’ when English acquired it; in the 14th century the sense ‘harm, damage’ emerged, but the more trivial modern sense ‘naughtiness’ did not develop until the 18th century.
- mischief (n.)
- c. 1300, "evil condition, misfortune, need, want," from Old French meschief "misfortune, harm, trouble; annoyance, vexation" (12c., Modern French méchef), verbal noun from meschever "come or bring to grief, be unfortunate" (opposite of achieve), from mes- "badly" (see mis- (2)) + chever "happen, come to a head," from Vulgar Latin *capare "head," from Latin caput "head" (see capitulum). Meaning "harm or evil considered as the work of some agent or due to some cause" is from late 15c. Sense of "playful malice" first recorded 1784. Mischief Night in 19c. England was the eve of May Day and of Nov. 5, both major holidays, and perhaps the original point was pilfering for the next day's celebration and bonfire; but in Yorkshire, Scotland, and Ireland the night was Halloween. The useful Middle English verb mischieve (early 14c.) has, for some reason, fallen from currency.
Synonym
Example
- 1. But mr. grogan describes even his dog 's decline in terms of mischief .
- 2. Needless to say , it is the unchecked and overinflated government that is causing the mischief .
- 3. Hanuman langurs are trained in new delhi to scare off aggressive rhesus monkeys and other wild animals that might roam into public spaces and cause mischief .
- 4. But the potential for mischief was too great a temptation .
- 5. Like mr thompson , most people see the potential for trouble after the mischief has been done .