mishappy

mishappy

English

Etymology

From Middle English myshappy, equivalent to mis- +‎ happy.

Adjective

mishappy (comparative more mishappy, superlative most mishappy)

1. (rare) Unfortunate; unhappy.
   • 1911, Edith Van Dyne, Aunt Jane's nieces and Uncle John:

     I go home bewildered unt mishappy, to find that Herr Gabert has stole the score of mine opera unt run avay mit mine vife.

   • 1916, The Mentor:

     “So much fiction has been written,” he said, “in which the primitive world life has been fantastically mishappy, hopeful endeavor and rapid, substantial growth.

   • 1963, United States Congress, Senate Hearings:

     And my statement was if that is the fact I will wait until you are mishappy or unhappy with their services, and I am always available, and thanked them for the opportunity for giving that time to discuss the matter.

   • 1998, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art:

     Two chairs are superimposed in such a way that they truly appear obscene, and immediately a couple will imitate the same position on them. These trivia become "mishappy," silly instruments; we have to see them in their awkward shapes and their usual application is lost.

   • 2009, Henry Cabot Lodge (Editor), The Best of the World's Classics:

     And the same saith Innocent in one of his books; he saith that sorrowful and mishappy is the condition of a poor beggar, for if he asks not his meat he dieth of hunger, and if he ask he dieth for shame; and dire necessity constraineth him to ask; […]

Derived terms

• mishappily
• mishappiness

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for mishappy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)