| 释义 |
▪ I. miss, n.1|mɪs|
Forms: 3–6 mis, mysse, 3–7 misse, 4–5 mys, (5 myss, 6 myshe), 6– miss.
[Partly f. miss v.1; but other formations (likewise from the OTeut. *misso-) seem to have coalesced with this. In the sense of ‘loss’ (branch I) the word may partly represent OE. *miss neut., ‘absence, loss’ (Sweet Anglo-Saxon Dict.), or be ad. ON. missi-r masc. or missa fem., ‘loss’. In some of the earlier examples of branch II (fault, mistake) the word appears to have been evolved (like mis adv.) from the resolution of compounds of mis- prefix1; of similar origin are MHG., MLG., MDu. misse mistake, ill-success, Du. mis error. In the sense of ‘missing a mark’, etc. (branch III) it has not been found earlier than the 16th c., and may be purely a late formation on the verb; cf., however, early mod.Du. misse ‘vanus ictus, jactus’ (Kilian), which was developed from the adverbial use in misse slaan, to miss one's stroke. Cf. also ON. á mis adv., so as to miss or fail to meet, whence the ME. on mis (see 4 below), later amiss adv., is prob. adopted.]
I. Loss, lack. (Cf. miss v.1 IV.)
1. a. The fact or condition of missing, having lost, or being without (a thing or person); loss, lack, privation. Const. of or gen. (Cf. miss v.1 14.)
c1470Harding Chron. ccxxx. iv, The kyng murthered..The duke was wod, and frantike for his misse. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxix. 260 And whan he lefte his crowne, than fell honour downe, for mysse of such a kynge. 1513More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 783 When the wondring of the people cast a comely red in her chekes, of the which she before had most misse. 1586Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. iv. ii, As when an herd of lusty Cymbrian bulls Run mourning round about the females miss. 1592Nashe P. Penilesse 9 b, If more regard were not had of him shortly, the whole Realme should haue a misse of him. 1614Raleigh Hist. World II. v. v. §4. 570 At Carthage, the misse of so great a person was diuersly construed. 1628–77Feltham Resolves ii. xxii. 40 An estate squander'd in a wanton waste, shews better in the miss, then while we had the use on't. 1886Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxliv. 15 Temporal blessings are not trifles, for the miss of them would be a dire calamity.
†b. Observable lack. (Cf. miss v.1 15.) Obs.
1689S. Sewall Diary 27 May, The main streets thwacked with people, and yet little miss of people in Fen-Church and Lumbard Streets. 1722De Foe Plague (1754) 248 There was no miss of the usual Throng of People in the Streets.
2. a. Disadvantage or regret occasioned by loss, absence, or privation of a person or thing. (Cf. miss v.1 16.) Chiefly in phrases, to have or find (a) (great, heavy, little) miss of; to feel the miss of; there is no (great) miss of. Now dial. or vulgar.
a1200Moral Ode 234 Þenne hi cumeð eft to þe chele, of hete hi habbeð misse. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 262 Þer mys nee mornyng com neuer here. c1400Destr. Troy 6707 Of soche a mon were a mysse þurgh the mekyll world. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. i. ccxix. 279 These two kynges..bewayled the lorde James of Bourbon, sayeng, that it was great damage of hym, and a great mysse of hym out of theyr company. 1540St. Papers Hen. VIII, III. 205 Their shalbe greate myshe of ther absentie, considering ther towardnes and goode esperience. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxv. (Arb.) 282 Heywood being loth to call for drink so oft as he was dry..sayd I finde great misse of your graces standing cups. 1608Bacon Let. to Sir T. Bodley Wks. 1830 XII. 91 In respect of my going down to my house in the country I shall have miss of my papers. 1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc. 66 Leaving behind him a great misse of himself, at Padua especially. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) VIII. 114 We know the miss of you, and even hunger and thirst, as I may say, to see you. 1751Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless II. 267 Agreeable as her conversation was, Mr. Trueworth found no miss of her, as the lovely Harriot was left behind. 1797A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl I. 95 The poor servants will all have a miss of such a master as your honour. 1807A. Seward Lett. (1811) VI. 364 With such excellent qualities of head and heart [etc.]..I think his professional talents will have no great miss of what are called the classics. 1860Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. iii. viii, I was determined my son should have a good eddication: I'd none myself and I've felt the miss of it. 1901‘Rita’ Jilt's Jrnl. i. xx, I'm thinking 'tis now you'll feel the miss o' your mother, my dear.
†b. transf. A person missed. nonce-use.
a1631Donne Eleg. xvi. Poems (1654) 95, I found my misse, struck hands, and praid him tell..where he did dwell.
II. Wrong, mistake. (Cf. miss v.1 V.)
†3.
a. Wrong, wrong-doing; offence, injury; a wrong, misdeed. with miss: wrongly, amiss. Obs.
Not always distinguishable with certainty from mis adv.
a1225Ancr. R. 86 Ȝif a mon..seið & deð so much mis þet hit beo so open sunne [etc.]. a1300Cursor M. 24339 To me his moder did þai þat mis. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4784 Þou bedes me mys & outrage! 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3289 Als Innocentes þat never dyd mys. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2391 Þou art confessed so clene, be-knowen of þy mysses. c1430Hymns Virgin (1867) 98 Repentynge þee of al þi mys. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 352 Be war that yhe with myss deyme nocht my taille. a1500Bernard. de cura rei fam. (1870) 7/162 Ane aulde woman þat is Licherus and wyl not lef hir mys. 1546Supplic. Poore Commons (1871) 79 Defer not (moost deare Soueraine) the reformation of this mysse. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. ix. 2 What wonder then if one, of women all, did mis? 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 53 He saith, she is immodest, blames her misse. c1611Chapman Iliad v. 197 Some other way I might repair this shameful miss. 1616J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. xi. 60 But if hee will for neithers [sake] quitt the misse.
b. in alliterative association with mend, etc.
c1320Sir Tristr. 2760 Mendi þou most þat mis [viz. the slaying of Moraunt]. a1400Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 91 Þou broghte thaym to blysse Thorowe mendynge of mysse. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 64 Off this gret myss I sall amendis hawe. 1470–85Malory Arthur ii. ii. 78, I shalle amende all mysse that I haue done ageynst yow. 1581Satir. Poems Reform. xliv. 114 And tyme requyris amendement of missis. c1620A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 2 To mend the misses that ignorant custom hath bred. 1637–50Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 164 To amend his awin misses, and to reforme abuses in his Court.
†4. Phr. on mis (cf. ON. á mis) = amiss, q.v.
c1230Hali Meid. 17 Þet is..þe stude & te time þe mahten bringe þe on mis forte donne. a1350St. Anastasia 202 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 27 Onmis þo wurdes þou vnderstode. c1420[see amiss adv. 5].
†5. withoute(n) miss: without mistake or uncertainty; undoubtedly, certainly; = without fail in its older application. [Cf. MDu. sonder misse.]
a1250Five Joys of the Virgin in Rel. Ant. I. 49 There is joie ant eke blisse, That ever last, wid-oute misse. a1300Cursor M. 24758 Quat time and term þat þis bitidd..I sal yow mon wid-vten mis. c1450Lovelich Merlin 208 And whanne the devel vndirstod al this, thanne was he joyful, with-owten mis. Ibid. 308, 1366, 1388, 1454.
†6. Error, mistake. Obs.
a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 90 Without any great misse in the hardest pointes of Grammer.
III. Failure to hit or attain. (Cf. miss v.1 I.)
7. a. Failure to hit something aimed at; transf., an unsuccessful gramophone record (opp. hit n. 4.)
Proverb: a miss is as good as a mile (formerly † an inch in a miss is as good as an ell, etc.): a failure is a failure however near one may have been to success.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. vi. 89 He throweth his stone, fetching his ronne, and maketh lightly a narowe mysse, thoughe it be a good waye of. 1614Camden Rem., Prov. 303 An ynche in a misse is as good as an ell. 1721Kelly Sc. Prov. 35 An Inch of a miss is as good as a span [misprinted spaw]. 1825Scott Jrnl. 3 Dec. (1890) I. 32 He was very near being a poet—but a miss is as good as a mile, and he always fell short of the mark. 1860Adler Prov. Poet. xi. 237 Walter..evades the blow but the miss stretches his antagonist flat upon the ground. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 163 What seemed hits and what seemed misses in a certain fence-play. 1887Rider Haggard Jess v, He has just killed half a dozen..partridges without a miss. 1965Listener 9 Sept. 391/1 Persons invited to give their verdict..are not being asked to say whether the songs are good or bad but merely whether they will be ‘hits’ or ‘misses’. 1966Melody Maker 16 July 20 Dusty's new single may be one of her misses.
b. Billiards. A failure to hit the object ball, on account of which the opponent scores: in certain circumstances considered the correct play. Phr. to give a miss = to avoid hitting the object ball, esp. with the intention of putting one's ball in a safe position; also, to give the miss in baulk. The opponent is said to score a miss.
1844Mardon Billiards 29 In playing off, it is customary to give a miss in the baulk. Ibid. 115 Should the striker, when in hand, play at a ball in baulk, his adversary has the option of scoring a miss. 1867W. Dufton Pract. Billiards iii. 42 The miss may be made with the butt or the point of the cue. 1873Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 345 In most cases a miss would be the game here. 1907Westbrook & Wodehouse Not George Washington ii. xxi. 228 And James..is actually giving this the miss in baulk! 1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves iii. 31 Anyway, it never even occurred to me for a moment to give her the miss-in-baulk.
c. transf. to give a miss, to abstain from, avoid.
1919B. Ruck Disturbing Charm i. ii. 10 The Professor chose (as he often did) to give lunch a miss. 1927A. Huxley Let. 17 May (1969) 286 The result of this will be that we must, alas, give Paris a miss. 1930Morning Post 16 July 8/3 The leek is..among the..vegetables that are too often given a miss. 1950J. Cannan Murder Included vii. 183 I'm afraid I've given church a miss this morning. 1973Boyd & Parkes Dark Number ix. 91, I think the CID would be happier if you gave the whole place a miss.
8. Failure to obtain or achieve something. Now rare.
1609E. Hoby Let. to Mr. T. H. 15 Your debts were..very clamorous: the misse of your preferment was grieuous. 1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 18 After first or second graffing in the same Stocke, being mist (for who hits all) the third misse puts your Stocke in deadly danger. 1661R. L'Estrange Interest Mistaken Pref. p. iv, Aërius turn'd Heretique upon the misse of a Bishoprick. 1680Baxter Answ. Stillingfl. xxviii. 41 It is not..the miss of a Complement or Ceremony, that makes a Man a Rebel. 1753–4Richardson Grandison (1811) II. ii. 12 If they have had no lovers, or..have not found a husband, they have had rather a miss than a loss, as men go. 1834Gladstone in Morley Life (1903) I. 112, I ought to be thankful for my miss [sc. failure to catch the Speaker's eye].
9. Printing. The omitting to lay on a sheet in feeding a printing-machine.
1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab.
▪ II. miss, n.2|mɪs|
[Shortening of mistress.
Probably this oral shortening may have been suggested by the written abbreviations ‘Mis.’ and ‘Mis’ (the latter representing the spelling mistris) which were common in the 16–17th c. In the following quots. it is not quite certain that ‘Mis’ is not a mere graphic abbreviation.
1606Choice, Chance, & Change G 4 My Mistrisse..did thus salute me. Seruante good morrow, what abroade so earlie?..mistris quoth I, shall the seruant bee in bed after his Mis? Ibid. H 2, If your mistris haue a fine wit, and your wife, but a plaine vnderstanding..if your mis. be kind and your wife dogged: wil you loue your mis. better then your wife?]
1. A kept mistress; a concubine. Less commonly, a common prostitute, whore. Obs. exc. dial.
1645Evelyn Diary June, The com'on misses [at Venice]..go abroad bare-fac'd. 1662Ibid. 9 Jan., She being taken to be the Earle of Oxford's Misse (as at this time they began to call lewd women). 1675(title) The Character of a Town-Misse. 1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 864 All women would be of one piece, The virtuous matron, and the miss. 1765Bickerstaffe Maid of Mill ii. x. 42 If one is a Miss, be a Miss to a gentleman I say. 1803M. Charlton Wife & Mistress IV. 214, I would rather chuse to see this child..the wife of an honest man, than the Miss of a Nobleman. 1809J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 303 A Miss of the street. 1826J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 10 Can you believe what the newspapers said that the parents connived at her being Colonel Barclay's miss? 1889in N.W. Linc. Gloss.
transf.1700Dryden Fables, Cock & Fox 56 This gentle cock..Six misses had, beside his lawful wife.
fig.1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 969 (1694) 51 Our Money's now become the Miss Of all your Lives and Services.
2. Prefixed as a title to the name of an unmarried woman or girl (not entitled to the prefix ‘lady’ or some higher designation of rank).
In modern use, when Miss is prefixed to the surname alone, e.g. Miss Smith, it normally indicates the eldest (unmarried) daughter of the family; in referring to the others the Christian name is employed, e.g. Miss Ethel (Smith). (But for reasons of convenience the Christian names are often inserted or omitted without regard to this rule.) When the title is applied to several persons of the same name at once, usage sanctions two forms, viz. the Misses Smith and the Miss Smiths, the former being regarded as grammatically the more proper.
1666–7Pepys Diary 7 Mar., Little Miss Davis did dance a jigg after the end of the play. 1670R. Flecknoe Epigr. 43 To Mis Davies, On her excellent dancing. Dear Mis, Who would not think [etc.]. 1697Vanbrugh Relapse iv. i, Enter Miss Hoyden, and Nurse. c1700Farquhar Love & a Bottle Epil., Oh Collier! Collier! thou'st frighted away Miss Cross. 1729Swift Direct. Serv. xvi, Miss Betty won't take to her Book. 1772in J. L. Chester Westm. Abbey Reg. (1876) 416 Miss Catharine Ayrton; aged three months. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey II. iv. i. 171 Does my Lord Manfred keep his mansion there, next to the Misses Otranto? 1870Geo. Eliot in Cross Life III. 112 The Miss Gaskells were staying with them. 1880Theatre Feb. 118 As Adriano Miss Josephine Yorke looked and sang admirably.
b. Miss Nancy (dial. and colloq.): an effeminate man; so to talk Miss Nancy, to speak politely; also attrib. Hence Miss-Nancyfied, Miss-Nancyish adjs., effeminate; Miss-Nancyism, effeminacy.
1824Carr Craven Gloss. s.v. Nancy, A Miss-nancy, is an effeminate man. 1848A. Brontë Tenant of Wildfell Hall I. iii. 53 You will treat him like a girl—you'll spoil his spirit, and make a mere Miss Nancy of him. 1855‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says 298, I could overlook the boarding⁓school-ism of the Miss Nancyish ‘Journal’. 1863‘G. Hamilton’ Gala-Days 117 A man's hair is shag... Ceasing to be shag, it does not become beauty, but foppishness, effeminacy, Miss Nancyism. 1870A. W. Drayson Young Dragoon viii. 61 Officers and men must be thorough soldiers—not ‘Miss Nancy’ sort of fellows. 1874Southern Mag. XIV. 353 Poh! ‘Miss-Nancyfied’ men! 1886Harper's Weekly 20 Mar. (Cent.), Ineffable silliness, sneering at the demand for honesty in politics as Miss Nancyism. c1898Mrs. E. Lynn Linton in Speaker (1901) 20 July 453/1, I think a dash of femininity in a man is good; but I hate a ‘Miss Nancy’. 1916W. Riley Netherleigh xv. 152 Talkin' Miss Nancy as if 'e was a dancin' master. 1928‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country ii. 8 He actually carried sleeping attire about with him, and a tooth-brush, Miss Nancy habits derided by the men.
c. A lady entitled to be addressed as ‘Miss ―’.
1840Hood Kilmansegg, Marriage xxiii, The Bride, who came from her Coach a Miss, As a Countess walk'd to her carriage.
d. Miss Milligan, a kind of patience played with two packs of cards.
1899M. W. Jones Games of Patience 5th Ser. x. 27 Miss Milligan Patience. 1914C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. xiv. 782 She used to sit playing ‘Miss Milligan’..and said..that she had really enjoyed Patience for the first time. 1934H. G. Wells Exper. Autobiogr. I. i. 29, I have played a spread-out patience called Miss Milligan for the past fifteen years. 1938C. Morgan Flashing Stream ii. ii. 205 Karen, make it four and bridge. Oh, you don't play. Five and poker. (No answer.) Hell, I'll play Miss Milligan. 1975J. Symons Three Pipe Problem xviii. 200 She played all sorts of patience games from simple single-pack patiences like Miss Milligan and the elegant Windmill to complicated double-pack games like French Blockade and Triple Line.
e. A young woman, Miss America, Miss England, Miss Europe, Miss World, etc., chosen for beauty, personality, etc., to represent a country, region, etc.; also transf.
[1905R. H. Davis (title) Miss Civilisation.] 1922N.Y. Times 5 Sept. 19/6 Miss Margaret Gorman of Washington, winner of the 1921 contest, will be known as ‘Miss America’. 1927Maclean's Mag. 1 June 40 ‘Miss Toronto’ wearing a stylish Aberley of the attractive ‘Bird of Gladness’ design in which she won the cup at the 1926 Beauty Contest at Sunnyside. 1929Daily Tel. 8 Feb. 11/4 ‘Miss Europe’ was chosen to-night..from among the seventeen girls who had been selected as the most beautiful women of their respective countries. 1935M. Campbell My 30 Yrs. Speed ix. 202 Sir Henry Segrave was killed on Lake Windermere during attempts on the water-speed record with Miss England II. 1953S. Spewack Under Sycamore Tree ii. i. 35 Attention, everybody. We now bring you the results of the beauty contest..to pick Miss Human Ant of nineteen fifty-three. 1958Listener 23 Oct. 662/1 Sport, travelogues, space-rockets, Miss World..succeed each other rapidly and effortlessly. 1962E. Cleaver in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 14/2 A..blue eyed ‘white’ girl is..proclaimed as..Miss Universe. 1968Radio Times 28 Nov. 70/3 The first Miss World in 1951 measured 37-23-36. 1972G. Bromley In Absence of Body iii. 27 Poised at a desk on a low dais—as though she might have been Miss Great Britain..was a ravishing receptionist. 1974Times 8 Mar. 3/4 (heading) Miss World stripped of title.
f. Miss Ann(e, Miss Annie (see quots.).
1926C. Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 286 Miss Annie, a white girl. 1942Z. N. Hurston in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 224/2 Miss Anne used to worry me so bad to go with me. 1965[see Charley, Charlie 7]. 1966Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 45 The Man and Miss Ann refer more specifically to the boss and the fair, young white lady of the plantation... Both..are used ironically. 1970C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 81 Miss Ann, a white woman—carry-over from Southern terminology, but now used with a good-natured sneer or with outright maliciousness.
g. Miss Willmott's ghost, a large sea holly, Eryngium giganteum, so called in allusion to Ellen Ann Willmott (1860–1934), English horticulturist, who was responsible for the introduction of many plants.
1956A. M. Coats Flowers & their Histories 89 The biennial sea-holly..has a spectral look in the twilight which might well justify its name of Miss Willmott's Ghost. It is said that when visiting gardens, Ellen Willmott used surreptitiously to drop a few seeds of this plant here and there, to surprise the owners in due course. 1963Oxf. Bk. Garden Flowers 154/1 The biennial species, E[ryngium] giganteum, becomes quite white and desiccated after it has flowered, and is often called ‘Miss Willmott's Ghost’, after that great gardener Miss Ellen Willmott. 1974R. L. Fox Variations on Garden 127 It [sc. Eryngium giganteum] is also called Miss Willmott's Ghost, Miss Willmott being a former plantswoman of the home counties with a tongue, and tastes, as sharp as a thistle's spine.
h. Occas. uses, as Miss Lonelyhearts (see lonely a. 6); Miss Right, a woman who would be a perfect wife; Miss White, a lavatory.
1922Joyce Ulysses 347 When she wanted to go where you know she said she wanted to run and pay a visit to the Miss White. Ibid. 640 He would one day take unto himself a wife when Miss Right came on the scene.
3. With ellipsis of the proper name. Not now in educated use.
a. Without article, substituted for the name of a young unmarried lady, often equivalent to ‘the daughter of the house’, ‘the young lady of the family.’
1695Congreve Love for L. ii. x, Oh, madam, you are too severe upon miss. 1712Swift Jrnl. to Stella 30 Dec., I saw the Bishop of Clogher's family to-day; Miss is mighty ill of a cold. 1747Garrick (title) Miss in her Teens. 1758Johnson Idler No. 33 ⁋24 Both the old lady and miss are fond of..collared eel. 1820Byron Blues i. 78 Is it miss or the cash of mamma you pursue? 1888J. Payn Prince of Blood xxviii. (1892) 229 ‘I hope miss is not much worse’, he said.
b. vocatively.
1667Dryden Maiden Qu. iii, Adieu, Dear Miss! If ever I am false to thee again. 1670[see 2]. 1740tr. De Mouhy's Fort. Country Maid (1741) I. 60 And, Miss, since that is your Name, you shall go Home to your Parents. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxxi, ‘My sweetest Miss’, cried my wife, ‘he has told you nothing but falsehoods.’ 1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1818) I. 101 ‘Dear Miss’, said a lively old Lady to a friend of mine. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v., Nor must one say, ‘Pray, Miss, do you go to the ball this evening?’ 1850C. M. Yonge Henrietta's Wish iv. 49, ‘I beg your pardon, Miss,’ said she [sc. a maidservant]. 1901‘Rita’ Jilt's Jrnl. i. ii, He..said, ‘A pleasure, miss, I assure you’... ‘Miss’, I repeated... ‘Fancy calling me—‘miss’. But then he isn't a gentleman.’
c. In angry or contemptuous use.
1906S. Weyman Chippinge xxii, [A mother says] ‘You hate me!’ ‘Oh no, no!’ the girl cried in distress. ‘You do, miss!’
d. A pert girl.
1818Keats Lett. (1958) II. 13 She is a downright Miss without one set off—we hated her. 1864C. M. Yonge Trial I. vi. 100, I came down upon little Miss at last for her treatment of the doctor. 1937M. Allingham Dancers in Mourning xi. 158 A sulky little miss if ever I saw one.
e. miss sahib, in India, the daughter of a mem-sahib, a European girl.
1888Kipling Soldiers Three (1889) 8 Bund karo all the Miss Sahib's asbab an' look slippy! 1892― & Balestier Naulakha xx. 236 ‘Has the miss sahib any orders,’ asked Dhunpat Rai. 1971R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel iii. 46 Oh, memsahib... Is the miss-sahib unwell? 1973‘B. Mather’ Snowline ix. 105, I saw the sahib... He..passed close to a group of goras and dirty miss-sahibs, who called out to him.
f. A female schoolteacher; an English governess in France.
1924A. D. Sedgwick Little French Girl i. vi. 51 The ‘Misses’ of her childhood. 1951R. Senhouse tr. Colette's Chéri 21 No ‘Fräulein’, no ‘Miss’ was ever to be seen at Chéri's side. 1968L. Berg Risinghill 16 Girls are caned as well as boys in Islington. ‘Miss said no one should come in the class during the dinnertimes.’ Ibid. 227 That's not a bad thing for a child to copy—to think ‘Sir's mod!’ or ‘Miss is mod!’ 1973Guardian 20 Mar. 17/3, I would like to subject some of the ‘misses’ and some of the ‘sirs’ to the indignities and fears that they have heaped upon my kids.
4. A young unmarried woman; a girl, esp. a schoolgirl, or one who has lately left school; in modern use, often connoting the squeamishness or sentimentality characteristic of girls of such an age.
In literary English use now only playful or contemptuous; in trade use (distinguished from ladies and children, with reference to sizes or styles of articles of clothing), misses denotes girls of from about 10 to 17 years of age. The American dicts. describe the word as being in colloquial and trade use.
1667Dryden Maiden Qu. ii. i, Oh, my Miss in a Masque! have you found your Tongue? a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Miss,..a little Girl. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Miss, a Title given to a young Gentlewoman. 1715Gay Ep. Burlington 75 Three boarding-schools well stock'd with misses. 1750Johnson Rambler No. 85 ⁋12 A knot of misses busy at their needles. 1796Lamb Let. to Coleridge 28 Oct., To fall out like boarding-school misses. 1802E. Parsons Myst. Visit II. 172 Very unlike a novel-reading Miss. 1842Tennyson Amphion 81 The wither'd Misses! how they prose O'er books of travell'd seamen. 1858Mrs. Gore Heckington III. x. 213 Leave them [sc. whimsies] to such Misses as the Horsfords. 1880in Amer. Mail Order Fashions (1961) 20 A Misses' bathing costume. The pattern..is in 6 sizes for misses from 10 to 15 years of age. 1880Nation (N.Y.) 12 Aug. advt., The Maples.—A Family School for Young Ladies and Misses. 1885Spectator 30 May 706/1 Happiest when under the tyranny of some small miss of two or three. 1892–3T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 11/1 In misses' and small women's coats, we are still unexcelled. 1930E. Wallace Lady of Ascot viii. 67 She catered for what they call in America the ‘Miss’, and had as her principal clients thousands of working girls, who, through the Carawood stores, were able to dress fashionably. 1951Vogue Feb. 94/1 We pass through the Baby Linen on our way to the Misses. 1954M. Corey McCall's Compl. Bk. Dressmaking 50 In junior sizes, as in misses' and women's sizes, the size that you take in a dress pattern is also the right size for your coat or your suit. 1970Vogue Sewing Bk. ii. 108 The Misses' figure is considered the statistically ‘average’ figure. 1973Philadelphia Inquirer 7 Oct. 9 (Advt.), Misses' nationally famous Separates. Coordinated sets. Ibid., Every winter coat for misses, juniors, women reduced Monday only.
5. = Mrs. (dial. and U.S.) Also used conventionally of a married woman in public life.
1790N. Webster in Gazette U.S. 17 Nov. (Th.), The use of Miss for Mistress in this country is a gross impropriety. 1819Mass. Spy 12 May (Th.), I concluded he had resolved to marry Miss Spruce, but found upon inquiry that his name was Spruce, and Miss Spruce was his wife. 1836Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 451 If Miss Corncob, your wife, ain't here. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. (1839) xxv. 246 The company..fell to, immediately: Miss Petowker blushing very much when anybody was looking, and eating very much when anybody was not looking. 1854― Hard T. in Househ. Words 12 Aug. 598/2 Miss Josephine Sleary..was then announced... ‘Here 'th Jothphine hath been and got married to E. W. B. Childerth, and shee hath got a boy..three yearth old.’ 1873M. Holley My Opinions 166 Miss Aster would give up her bedroom to me, or mebby she would make Mr. Aster sleep with one of the boys, and have me sleep with her. 1875in Parish Sussex Gloss. 1878R. T. Cooke Happy Dodd x. 99 Mis' Potter sent that. 1888L. D. Powles Land of Pink Pearl 154 No married woman, not even excepting the Governor's wife, is ever accorded the title of ‘Mrs.’ but all ladies, married or single, are called ‘Miss’ or ‘Missey’ indiscriminately. 1936Mencken Amer. Lang. (ed. 4) 124 The vulgar American misuse of..Mis' (pro. miz) for Mrs{ddd}was so widespread by 1790 that..Webster denounced it as ‘a gross impropriety’... It survives unscathed in the speech of the common people. 1937N. Marsh Vintage Murder i. 6 What about Miss Dacres? Or should I say Mrs. Meyer? I never know with married stars. 1974Daily Tel. 3 Oct. 10/6 Miss Blyton seems to have indulged in a few affairs before marrying her devoted surgeon second husband. 1975Times 3 Apr. 14/4 Miss [Eileen] Fowler attributes her success in her unusual field partly to the fact that she started her working life as an actress... ‘My husband was a bit overweight when we married,’ she said. Ibid. 4 Apr. 1/1 Miss Ure..was found collapsed by her husband, Mr. Robert Shaw, the actor.
▪ III. miss, n.3 Cards.|mɪs|
[Possibly a use of miss n.1 or of miss n.2]
At loo, an extra hand for which any of the players may discard his own.
1767Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 10 June (1889) II. 22 There was to be two tables at Lu... The partys were scanty; both tables play'd with ‘Miss’. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe (1862) III. 240 General Mainwaring had been looed in miss four times running. 1883H. Jones in Encycl. Brit. XV. 1/1 Each player in rotation..looks at his cards, and declares whether he will play, resign, or take miss.
▪ IV. miss, n.4|mɪs|
Colloq. abbrev. of miscarriage 3.
1897W. S. Maugham Liza of Lambeth x. 167, I've 'ad twelve, ter sy nothin' of two stills an' one miss. 1951J. Cannan And All I Learned v. 70, I heard of a girl who'd had eleven misses. 1959‘J. Ross’ Boy in Grey Overcoat x. 125, I didn't care what happened either to me or the child. I hoped I would have a miss. 1971‘D. Shannon’ Murder with Love (1972) viii. 138 She had a miss, that time, lost the baby.
▪ V. miss, v.1|mɪs|
Forms: 1 missan, 3–7 misse, 4–6 mys(se, mis, myse, 5–6 myss, 6 mish, 6– miss; pa. tense 1–4 miste, (3 misste), 4–9 mist, 5–6 myst, 4– missed (also 5 -id, -yd -ud, etc.); pa. pple. 3 ymyst, 3–4 imist, 4– (as in pa. tense).
[OE. missan = OFris. missa, MLG., MDu., Du. missen, OHG. missan (MHG., G. missen), ON. missa (Sw. mista, Da. miste, from the pa. tense and pa. pple.):—OTeut. *missjan, f. participial stem *misso-: see mis-1.]
I. trans. To fail to hit, meet, or light upon.
1. To fail to hit (something aimed at). Said either of the person aiming or of the missile. In OE. with obj. in genitive (cf. miss of, 23).
to miss the cushion: see cushion n. 10 a.
Beowulf 2439 He miste mercelses and his mæᵹ ofscet. c1470Henry Wallace x. 366 The Bruce him myssyt as Wallace passyt by. a1547Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 13 The palme play, where..With dazed eies oft we..Haue mist the ball. 1603Florio Montaigne i. xxxiii, That ancient fellow, who, hurling a stone at a dog, misst him, and there withall hit..his step-dame. 1646Evelyn Diary (Chandos ed.) 193 They were most accurate at the long-bow and musket, rarely missing the smallest mark. 1664N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. vi. 182 The next Course was perform'd much after the same manner, only Proselenes miss'd the Ring. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. iii. 148 The Purser..fired a pistol at Cozens, which however mist him. 1813Scott Rokeby iv. xxvi, The gun he levell'd—mark like this Was Bertram never known to miss. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 753 The babe..rear'd his creasy arms, Caught at and ever miss'd it. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. v. 387 He..missed the traitor, and slew another soldier who was near him.
b. in fig. application, esp. to miss one's aim, miss one's (or the) mark (see mark n.1 7 e).
1530Palsgr. 638/1 If I mysse nat my marke, he is a busy felowe. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. iv. 4, I..oft haue shot at them, Howe're vnfortunate, I miss'd my ayme. 1604― Ham. iv. i. 43 (Qo. 2). 16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. iv. iii. 1926 For that I misse this gaudy painted state, Whereat my fortunes fairely aim'd of late. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. 176 The Ministers or Brethren now missing their mark, abated much of their former activity. 1735Pope Ep. Lady 128 The Pleasure miss'd her, and the Scandal hit. a1800Cowper Ep. to Prot. Lady 38 But ills of every shape and every name, Transformed to blessings, miss their cruel aim. 1855Browning Grammarian's Funeral, This high man, aiming at a million Misses an unit. 1874Green Short Hist. ix. §1 Cromwell..in his later years felt bitterly that Puritanism had missed its aim.
c. Occasionally, of a missile, a blow, etc.: To chance not to hit (some object or part, not necessarily aimed at); to pass by without touching.
1749Bracken Farriery Impr. (ed. 6) I. 300 Gun shot Wounds are seldom or never deadly (provided they miss the very Vitals). 1859Tennyson Vivien 781 One flash, that, missing all things else, may make My scheming brain a cinder.
d. absol. (Phr. hit or miss: see hit v. 22.)
c1250Gen. & Ex. 3872 Ones he smot ðor on ðe ston, And miste, and saȝ ðe water gon. 1535Coverdale Judg. xx. 16 With the slynge coulde they touch an heer, and not mysse. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 214 Well in that hit you misse, sheel not be hit With Cupids arrow. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. xlix. 68 In cutting off Heads, they are very dextrous, and never miss. 1742Fielding J. Andrews i. xvi, I never saw a surer shoot at a partridge. Every man misses now and then. 1859Tennyson Vivien 349 The sick weak beast seeking to help herself By striking at her better, miss'd. 1866Reade G. Gaunt I. vi. 154 The longer and more steadily the duellist fixes his eye on his adversary, the less likely he is to miss.
2. Not to hit upon (the right path). Usually to miss one's way. (Also fig.)
a1547[see missing vbl. n. 2]. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 13 b. The said Nicholas missed y⊇ channell, and ranne on ground. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 439 Say Wolsey..Found thee a way..to rise in: A sure, and safe one, though thy Master mist it. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 735 Thy way thou canst not miss. 1742Fielding J. Andrews ii. ii, He could not apprehend any mischief had happened, neither could he suspect that he missed his way. 1800A. Carlyle Autobiog. 28 Their eldest son.., having missed the road.., fell into a peat pot. 1822Shelley tr. Calderon's Mag. Prodig. i. 76 Take which [path] you will, you cannot miss your road.
3. To fail to obtain footing on (a step, plank, etc.). Also to miss one's footing. (Sc.) to miss a foot.
a1550Freiris Berwik 558 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 303 Freir Johine attour the stair is gane In sic wyiss, that mist he hes the trap, And in ane myr he fell. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 146 Till wee misse the bridge and fall into the ditch. 1670[see footing vbl. n. 4]. 1785Burns Halloween xxvi, She..mist a fit, an' in the pool..she plumpit. 1816Scott Old Mort. x, If he..dinna..miss ony o' the kittle steps at the Pass o' Walkwary. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 159 Blind with rage she miss'd the plank, and roll'd In the river.
4. To fail to meet (a person with whom a meeting or interview was possible or intended). Also occas. intr. for reciprocal.
1589Nashe Returne of Pasquill Wks. (Grosart) I. 91, I ranne presently to the water side to discouer your comming in; I wonder how I missed you? 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 56, I will visit her, tell her so:..I will not misse her. 1663Pepys Diary 27 July, Walked over the Parke to St. James's, but missed Mr. Coventry. 1721–2Pope Let. to Atterbury 14 Mar., I was disappointed..in missing you at the Deanery, where I lay solitary two nights. 1880Meredith Tragic Com. 40 Then we missed: now we meet.
b. Of a letter: To fail to reach (a person).
1855R. M. Milnes in Life (1891) I. xi. 527 Lady Ellesmere's letter missed me altogether, although directed as I desired.
5. Phrases.
a. to miss fire. Of firearms: To fail to go off. Hence fig. to be unsuccessful, to fail in his or its object.
1727Gay Begg. Op. i. xiii. (1729) 16 May my pistols miss fire. a1734North Exam. i. ii. §160, I conclude only that Wilkinson was a Trapan, and after missing Fire [etc.]. 1837Dickens Pickw. vii, Never knew one of them miss fire before. 1838D. Jerrold Men of Char. II. 166 That's how a man's brightest ideas sometimes miss fire. 1859Reade Love me little i, She missed fire—Uncle Fountain, like most Englishmen, could take in a pun by the ear, but wit only by the eye.
b. to miss stays (Naut.). To fail in the attempt to go about from one tack to another.
1691Lond. Gaz. No. 2687/3 It was by reason he mist stays. 1758Chron. in Ann. Reg. i. 83/1 The Invincible, one of his fleet,..missed her stays, and run upon a flat. 1821Scott Pirate xxxiv, His mates..have been here waiting for him till they have missed stays. 1893F. M. Crawford Children of King i. 11 She was near missing stays.
fig.1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. xxvi, I reckon I've missed stays!.. I'm for my long home, and no mistake.
c. [ellipt. use of 5 a.] intr. Of a motor vehicle or an engine: to fail to explode the mixture in a cylinder. (In quot. 1904 transf.) Phr. to miss on all (or four, etc.) cylinders: see cylinder n. 6.
1904Peel City Guardian 14 May 3/2 Hargreaves was ‘missing’ very badly. 1917,1932[see cylinder n. 6]. 1953A. Smith Blind White Fish in Persia x. 199 The departure from the Consulate was unceremonious, for the truck was missing badly, stalled several times and finally pulled us out through the gate. 1973D. MacKenzie Postscript to Dead Let. 8 The motor started missing a few miles back..then it died completely.
d. to miss a trick: see trick n. 13 c.
II. trans. To fail to attain.
6. To fail to get, obtain, receive, or acquire; to come short of, go without (what it is possible or desirable to have).
c1250Gen. & Ex. 3336 A met ðor was, it het Gomor, Ilc man is he bead, and nunmor, Him gaderen or ðe sunne⁓sine, Elles he sulden missen hine. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5266 And for þe godhede es ful of blisse, Þarfor þe sight of it þai sal misse. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 189 Man may mysse þe myrþe, þat much is to prayse. a1450Lovelich Merlin 782 Whanne the devel aspide..that his pray he scholde thus mis. 1582Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 18 Through this wyde roaming thee Troians Italy mishing Ful many yeers wandred. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. i. 37 And so may I..Misse that which one vnworthier may attaine. 1606Bacon in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 41 Since the time I missed the solicitor's place. 1634Milton Comus 925 May thy brimmed waves for this Their full tribute never miss. 1779Johnson L.P., Denham (1868) 33 At the Restoration he obtained that which many missed, the reward of his loyalty. 1850C. M. Yonge Henrietta's Wish iii. 29 She could not bear that her husband should miss his yearly holiday. 1872Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1265 So will my knight-knave Miss the full flower of this accomplishment. 1879Froude Cæsar xi. 130 Catiline had missed the consulship, and was a ruined man.
b. To fail to capture (a person, † a fortress).
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 468 Becaus tha knew him not tha mist him, and sa he chaiped. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 94 Curroon..attempting vainely Hasser, but missing it redelivers Rantos also into his enemies hands. 1889‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xliii, What a muff Sir Ferdinand must be, he's missed me twice already.
c. Not to have the satisfaction of hearing, seeing, or witnessing (something).
1841H. Ainsworth Guy Fawkes iii. i, It has been a painful spectacle.., and yet we would not have missed it. 1852Rogers Ecl. Faith (1853) 181 Painful as were the revelations which ensued, I would not have missed them on any account. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 142, I would not have missed the speech of Protagoras for a great deal.
7. a. With inf. or gerund: To fail (to do something). Now arch. or dial.
c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 75 Thou shalt nat misse To comen swiftly to that place dere. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 77 Which would not misse..to make lac virginis. c1540J. Heywood Four P.P. 368 (Manly), I thought ye wolde nat haue myst To make men lyue as longe as ye lyste. 1568Jacob & Esau Prol., To send him a son by Sara he did not misse. 1664Chas. II. in Cartwright Madame (1894) 159 Pardon me for haveing mist writing to you so many posts. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 499 Th' invention all admir'd, and each, how hee To be th' inventer miss'd. 1733Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xiv. 196 In a dry Summer both sorts of Clover are apt to miss growing. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxiv, The whigs never miss to find it [sc. good ale] out. 1820Keats Isabella xxvi, I was in pain Lest I should miss to bid thee a good morrow. 1869Browning Ring & Bk., Pope 1658 So, never I miss footing in the maze.
b. To fail to achieve (an object). Cf. 1 b.
1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 54 To make it plain that this order will misse the end it seeks. 1738Wesley Hymns, ‘But that Thou art my Wisdom, Lord’, My Soul would be extremely stirr'd At missing my Design. 1779Johnson L.P., Cowley (1868) 6 He that misses his end will never be as much pleased as he that attains it.
†c. to miss (one's) measure: to fail to measure correctly. Obs.
1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 271 The Carpenters (missing their measure) had made it so much too short.
d. To fail to accomplish (a stroke).
1858‘Crawley’ Billiards (ed. 2) 29, I attempted a difficult canon off the white—and missed it. 1888J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge xxii, A man..must be an angel indeed who misses his stroke at billiards without a murmur.
8. To escape, avoid. Now only dial., exc. with adv. just, narrowly, etc. Also, † to get clear of, elude (pursuit).
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 166 [The ball]..mysseth the hande & falleth to the grounde. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 126 Throw his bitter deide I mis Of hell the dyntis dour. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 23 A shark (a man eating fish, and who seldome misse the hook, out of too much greedinesse). 1640H. Glapthorne Wit in a Constable iv. Wks. 1874 I. 223 The house anon I will enforme you, and what way to take To misse pursuit. 1788P. Henry in Amer. Oratory (1868) 19 (Stand. Dict.), Happy will you be, if you miss the fate of those nations, who..have groaned under intolerable despotism. 1791W. Jessop Rep. Navig. Thames 14 A cut of 400 Yards will miss a very crooked and Obstructed Part. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 278, I turned..across country for Delhi, and after missing a few shots, rode one hundred and thirty miles before I stopped.
with gerund.1600Hakluyt Voy. III. 257 [This] made mee and my company as narrowly to escape staruing..as euer men did that missed the same. 1687[see narrowly 4 b]. 1756W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans IV. 94 A hollier, who narrowly missed taking off the toes of Humphry with his carriage. 1814Scott Wav. lxi, She..once very narrowly missed introducing Waverley to a recruiting-sergeant of his own regiment.
9. To fail to take advantage of; to let slip (an opportunity, etc.).
a1628Preston New Covt. (1629) 587 marg., Because men misse the time they fall into misery. 1672Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 198 How frequent opportunities have I mist. 1772Priestley Inst. Relig. (1782) I. 338 Would the orator Tertullus have missed so fine a topic of declamation, had there been the least colour of truth in this story? 1827Scott Highl. Widow v, He thus missed an opportunity..of doing much good. 1841James Corse de Leon II. xi. 245 If we miss the precise moment..we have lost the great talisman for ever. 1902T. M. Lindsay Church & Min. in Early Cent. v. 173 It was better to be imposed upon sometimes than to miss the chance of entertaining a brother Christian.
b. To fail to catch (a train, etc.); not to be in time for. (Cf. miss of, 23 n.)
1823Dk. Sussex in S. Parr Wks. (1828) VII. 5, I fear to miss the Post. 1842Tennyson Walking to Mail 102 But put your best foot forward, or I fear That we shall miss the mail. 1856[see lie v.1 27 a]. 1886Manch. Exam. 12 Jan. 4/7 Mr. Parnell himself was absent in consequence of missing his train at Crewe on the previous night.
c. In various colloq. phrases, as to miss the boat; to miss the bus: see bus n.2 1 b.
1929F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 91 Miss the boat, to be late for anything. 1930Times Educ. Suppl. 8 Mar. 106/3 Boys of average ability..often had to neglect other pursuits..for fear that they might ‘miss the boat’. 1930Aberdeen Press & Jrnl. 3 Sept. 4/5 As a medium for a dull debut, ‘A Devil's Disciple’ by Bernard Shaw.., to use an Americanism, missed the boat by twenty years. 1931Time & Tide 29 Aug. 1001 There are ten men in the Cabinet... There are three more who, by strange irony of circumstance, have missed the train. 1934T. E. Lawrence Let. 18 Aug. (1938) 875, I fear I have missed the boat, for lately a viking ship came from you: so I place you in Norway. 1939H. Nicolson Let. 18 July (1966) 406 But Anthony..is in fact missing every boat with exquisite elegance. 1973Times 24 Mar. 2/4 Some firms were missing the boat because their managements were not prepared to be adventurous.
10. To fail to see or perceive (something that is within view); to fail to ‘catch’ or hear (some part of what one is listening to); to fail to apprehend or perceive intellectually.
a1588Tarlton's Jests (1844) p. xx, You may see his goodly counterfeit Hung up on everie wall. You never can misse the likennesse, For everie bodie knowes..His fathers lovelie visnomie. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 18 You are verie sencible, and yet you misse my sence. 1605― Macb. ii. ii. 13, I lay'd their Daggers ready, He could not misse 'em. 1610― Temp. ii. i. 54. 1666 Pepys Diary 28 Dec., I sat so high and far off that I missed most of the words. 1690Locke Govt. ii. vi. §61 Wks. 1727 II. 175 The most blinded Contenders for Monarchy, by Right of Fatherhood, cannot miss this Difference. 1779Johnson L.P., Savage (1868) 320 Mr. Savage..thought his drift could only be missed by negligence or stupidity. 1781Cowper Retirem. 458 What obvious truths the wisest heads may miss. 1816Scott Old Mort. xli, Ye canna miss Widow Maclure's public, for deil another house or hauld is on the road for ten lang Scots miles. 1855Geo. Eliot Ess., Evang. Teaching (1884) 164 He is meeting a hypothesis which no one holds, and totally missing the real question. 1893Liddon Life Pusey I. viii. 165 Allusive writing is open to two objections: Its point is missed by the majority of readers [etc.].
III. trans. To omit.
11. To omit, leave out (usually, a part of what one is reading, reciting, or writing.) Also with out.
1530Palsgr. 681/1 He hath a syngular memorie, he recyted al our hole comunycacion and myssed nat a worde. 1563–83Foxe A. & M. II. 2047/2 Then the said Lane being somewhat abashed, said his beliefe to these words, which he missed vnawares: Borne of the virgin Mary. 1641Smectymnuus Vind. Answ. §2 The Heathens had a Monitor that led them along in their prayers..that they might misse nor mistake no words. 1816Scott Old Mort. xii, He has gone to church service with me fifty times, and I never heard him miss one of the responses in my life. 1818Byron Juan i. xi, If any actor miss'd his part She could have served him for the prompter's copy. 1870Toulmin Smith Eng. Gilds 432 note, The transcriber by a slip of the pen has missed out words or parts of words.
†b. To leave undone through inadvertence. Obs.
1568Grafton Chron. II. 747 All thinges were prepared, and no thing was missed.
12. To omit the performance of (a customary or expected action); to fail or neglect to keep (an appointment); to be exceptionally absent from (church, school, etc.); to omit to attend or be present at (some particular spectacle, ceremony, festivity, etc., out of a series or succession).
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 102 One..that will not misse you morning nor euening prayer. 1602Ibid. iii. i. 92 (Qo. 1), For missing your meetings and appointments. 1658Whole Duty Man v. §34 He can never find in his heart so much as to miss a meal. c1694Prior Lady's Looking Glass 11 She would never miss one day A walk so fine. 1711Steele Spect. No. 51 ⁋6 Others never miss the first Day of a Play. 1742Fielding J. Andrews ii. iv, She..rarely missed a ball, or any other public assembly. 1819Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life I. v. 139 Mr. Thirlwall has never missed any Tuesday evening since, except the moccoli night. 1834Hood Tylney Hall I. xii. 122, I remember the time when Dr. Cobb never missed a meet of the hunt. 1886Ruskin Præterita I. 368, I never missed chapel.
†13. To pass by, overlook. Obs.
1666Bunyan Grace Abound. §208 How many Scriptures are there against me? There are but three or four: and cannot God miss them, and save me for all them?
IV. trans. To be without; lack; want.
†14. To be without, not to have, lack; to cease to have, lose. Also with away. (Cf. sense 6.) Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 20792 He wil noght tak þe cark on him Quar þat it be sua soght or nai, Þou hir bodi be mist o wai. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 8000 Þe dampned bodyse salle fredom mys. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 101 As a man may nouȝt se þat mysseth his eyghen. c1400Rom. Rose 5646 To paradys the soner go He shal,..Where that he shal no good misse. a1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 50 Ȝoure fadyrly love lete me nevyr mysse. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 80 Gif he had not fled for feir, Gude Matchewell had mist his meir. 1628–77Feltham Resolves i. xxxiv. 59 He hath good Materials for a foundation: but misseth where⁓with to rear the walls.
absol.1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 35 To borow to daie and to-morrow to mis, for lender and borower, noiance it is. a1631Donne Lett. to Pers. Honour (1651) 113 You have a fortune that can endure, and a nature that can almost be content to misse.
†b. to be missed: to be missing or absent; not to be found. Obs.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 537 If that he were missed, night or day, Ther-whyle he was aboute this servyse. 1535Coverdale 2 Kings x. 19, I haue a greate sacrifyce to do vnto Baal Who so euer is myssed, shal not lyue. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 6 Of the Scotis onlie war misset twa knichtis, and of the commoun peple four thousand.
†c. Contextually, to do without. Obs.
1533Heywood Pard. & Friar B j, This is the pardon, which ye cannot mysse. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 264 Bringing vnto man both honnye and wax,..both so necessary that we cannot misse them. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 311 We cannot misse him: he do's make our fire [etc.]. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1664) cl. 301 Learn daily both to possess and miss Christ in his secret bridegroom-smiles.
15. To discover the absence of; to perceive that (a person or thing) is not in the expected or accustomed place. Also (north.) † with away.
c1200Ormin 8919 Till þatt itt comm till efenn, & ta þeȝȝ misstenn þeȝȝre child. a1225Ancr. R. 78 Þe ueorðe time was þoa heo hefde imist hire sune, & eft hine ivond. a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 120 And when þai missed his body fast away þai fledd. 1375Barbour Bruce xix. 504 On the morn,..The Ingliss host myssit avay The Scottis men. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5641 Þe childe waked and his belt myst. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 827 They myssed hym and knewe not in what part of the worlde to make inquirie or serche for hym. 1592Greene Conny Catch. ii. 21 The farmer..thrust his hand into his pocket and mist his purse. 1693Dryden & Earl Mulgrave Ess. Satire 47 Like her, who miss'd her Name in a Lampoon, And grieved to find her self decay'd so soon. 1712Steele Spect. No. 280 ⁋4 This Man, whom I have missed for some Years in my Walks. 1750Gray Elegy 109 One morn I missed him on the custom'd hill. 1770Sir J. Banks Jrnl. xvi. (1896) 376, I took decoction of bark plentifully, and in three or four days missed it [sc. an ague]. 1782Cowper Gilpin 231 The post⁓boy's horse right glad to miss The lumbering of the wheels. 1814Scott Wav. lxiii, It was sae dark that his folk never missed him till it was ower late. 1846Browning Soul's Trag. i. 198 Well, he paid my fines Nor missed a cloak from wardrobe.
16. To perceive with regret the absence or loss of; to feel the want of.
1470–85Malory Arthur xviii. v. 731 Madame said sir Bors now mys ye sir launcelot. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. l. iii, Not want of sacrifice doth mee offend, Nor doe I misse thy alters daily flame. 1667Milton P.L. x. 104, I miss thee here, Not pleas'd, thus entertaind with solitude. 1779Johnson L.P., Milton (1868) 44 Milton was too busy to much miss his wife. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 524 Every month his native land remembers and misses him less. 1870Dickens E. Drood iii, I feel as if it would miss me, when I am gone so far away.
V. Intransitive uses.
†17. To go wrong, make a mistake, err. In OE. impers., const. dative of person. Obs.
In some of the latest examples the word should perhaps be referred to sense 1 d.
a975Canons K. Edgar xxxii. in Thorpe Laws (1840) II. 250 Ac beo se canon him æt-foran eaᵹum; beseo to, ᵹif he wille, þy læs þe him misse. c1275Passion our Lord 102 in O.E. Misc. 40 Þo seyde vre louerd crist..Nymeþ gode yeme þat ye nouht ne mysse. Hwam ich biteche þat bred..He me schal bitraye. c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 120 And, what it is, i wole þe wisse, Vnderstond, þat þu ne misse. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. iv. i. 230, I telle the that thou myssest in thy sayeng in this byhalfe. 1562Legh Armory 51 There you misse. For if you marke it, this is not like yt, yt went before. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 26 If a childe misse, either in forgetting a worde, or in chaunging a good with a worse. 1633G. Herbert Temple, H. Script., Starres are poore books, and oftentimes do misse. a1700Dryden Fables, Cock & Fox 452 For art may err, but nature cannot miss. a1754Fielding On Conversat. Wks. 1784 IX. 366 If..men..often err in their conceptions of what would produce their own happiness, no wonder they should miss in the application of what will contribute to that of others.
†18. To be lacking or wanting. Const. dat. (of person) or to. Obs. (Cf. missing ppl. a.)
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 445 Nil I nought swere..that he..wolde of that him missed han ben sesed. 1535Coverdale Josh. xxi. 45 And their myssed [1611 failed] nothinge of all the good that the Lorde had promysed..it came euery whyt. a1536Interl. Beauty & Good Prop. Women ad fin., For grace doth neuer mys To them that vse good prayers dayly. 1589Lyly Pappe w. Hatchet D d, There shall not misse a name of any, that had a Godfather. 1611Bible 1 Sam. xxv. 7 Neither was there ought missing vnto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xiii, ‘The heir of Thomas Randolph might have a better claim to be answered.’ ‘And, by my honour, it shall not miss for want of my asking the grace.’
†19. To fail to happen, come, etc. Obs.
1390Gower Conf. I. 325 Who loveth wel, it mai noght misse..Bot if that thei som weie finde. 1603Florio Montaigne i. xl, Death hath come, or it will not misse.
†20. To come to an end, give out, fail. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 9964 Þis castel es o beld and blis, þar mirth es neuer mar to mis. c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 1624 That, there-as thou now brought art in-to blisse, That thou thy-self ne cause it nought to misse. c1381― Parl. Foules 40 Til the day gan misse. c1460Towneley Myst. i. 66 Thou has..giffen vs Ioy that neuer shall mys. a1529Skelton ‘Now synge we’ 71 And thou shalt have blys That neuer shall mys.
21. To be unsuccessful: said of a person's designs or the person himself. Now arch. or Obs.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. Prol. 14 What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. 1662Pepys Diary 3 Nov., Though we have missed twice, yet they bring such an account of the probability of the truth of the thing,..that we shall set upon it once more. 1687Dryden Hind & P. i. 149 The bank above must fail before the venture miss. 1747in Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 137 If they miss in their Schemes. 1813Scott Rokeby iii. xxvi, If thy scheme miss.
22. a. Of crops, etc.: To be abortive or unproductive. dial.
1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 18 Put in euery such roomth three or foure Kirnels of Apples or Peares..and that day Moneth following, as many moe (lest some of the former misse). 1826in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (1889) s.v., The turnips have all missed. 1852Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIII. ii. 274 The seed has been known to miss occasionally.
b. To fail to menstruate at the normal time, to miss a period.
1947C. Willingham End as Man 9 A beautiful but wicked girl of a good Port George family missed one month. Then she missed another month. She went to a doctor and found out the truth. 1961G. Greene Burnt-Out Case vi. i. 184, I think I have a baby on the way..I've missed twice. 1971‘P. Hobson’ Three Graces i. 8, I think I'm pregnant. This is the second time I've missed.
23. miss of ―. Chiefly Obs. or arch.
a. To fail to obtain, receive, acquire, attain to, or secure; = 6. († occas. miss on.)
a1250Owl & Night. 581 Þu hauest ymyst of fayrhede & lutel is þi godhede. c1357Lay Folks Catech. (T.) 379 And man withouten merci of merci sal misse. c1386Chaucer Shipman's T. 352 And if that I were riche..Of twenty thousand sheeld shold ye nat misse. 1526Skelton Magnyf. 397 And of my seruyce you shall not mysse. 1599Return fr. Parnass. ii. i. 638, I had like have missed of this preferment for wante of one to be bounde for my truthe! a1625Beaum. & Fl. Wit at Sev. Weap. i. i, For feare some poor Earle steale her, 't has bin threatned To redeem morgag'd land, but he shall misse on't. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. xix. 111 Ill pleased for that they missed of the booty expected. 1712Steele Spect. No. 485 ⁋3 He is that Sort of Person which the Mob call a handsome jolly Man; which Appearance can't miss of Captives in this part of the Town. 1742Mrs. Montagu Lett. (1809) II. 144 An animal that has missed of instinct, and not lit upon reason. 1835Macaulay Ess., Mackintosh (1852) 325/2 A project which..had very narrowly missed of success. 1841F. E. Paget Tales of Village (1852) 505 Placed in a state in which..he cannot miss of everlasting happiness. 1868Swinburne Blake 89 Compelled..to an eternity of fruitless repentance for having wilfully missed of pleasure..in this world.
†b. To make a mistake with regard to. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Friar's T. 118 Er we departe, I shal thee so wel wisse, That of myn hous ne shaltow never misse. c1400Solomon 30* in Adam Davy 97 And to knowe god & yuel þat I þerof ne mysse.
c. To fail to seize or capture; = 6 b.
a1631Donne Elegy on Mris. Bulstred Poems (1633) 70 But thou hast both of Captaine mist and fort. 1678Donna Olimpia 32 Which indeed, as to his possessions, she effected, though she missed of his life. 1737Whiston Josephus, Hist. iv. ii. §5 Titus..had captives enough..to satisfy his anger, when it missed of John. 1833Whittier Pr. Wks. (1889) I. 262 They had missed of the old chief, but had captured his son.
†d. To be without, lack; to cease to have, lose; = 14. Obs.
a1300K. Horn (Ritson) 126 Hue wenden mid y wisse, Of huere lyve to misse. c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 418 ‘Þeih sholen se god’ aperteliche, In his godhede and in his blisse, Off which þei sholen neuere misse. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 486 Wyte it that ye have myssed of peas, For Charlemagne wylle noo thynge of it.
e. To fail to accomplish (a design) or realize (a hope); to fail in (an attempt or enterprise).
a1225Leg. Kath. 651 Þet þeo þe beoð icumene..me to underneomene, moten missen þrof. 1390Gower Conf. III. 349 And I [have] bot on desire, of which I misse. c1420Lydg. Assembly of Gods 108 Oft of myn entent hath he made me mys. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xiv. 321 He never myssed of no thyng that he toke in hand. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. iv. 34 He hadde missed of his enterprise. 1649Milton Eikon. 2 Rather..then that the People should not still miss of their hopes, to be releiv'd by Parlaments. 1662Pepys Diary 1 Nov., I myself did truly expect to speed; but we missed of all. 1667Decay Chr. Piety ii. ⁋1 Who can suspect that a cause so rightly dispos'd, should miss of its effect? 1703Burkitt On N.T. Matt. xxvii. 27–31 The Jews missing of their Expectation of a Temporal King in Christ. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 503 If he miss'd of his Business outward bound, he was to go up to China.
f. Not to find (a person or thing) where one expects or desires to; to discover the absence of (a thing). Also, to fail to meet with (a person).
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 57 b, When they missed of their company, they wer in such a rage [etc.]. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 634 Grittus..missing of the Moldauian, fell vpon Francis Schenden. 1610Heywood Gold. Age iv. i. 54 We have mist of Saturne lately fled. 1628Gaule Pract. Theories (1629) 367 They worthily misse of Christ, that seeke him where he is not. 1721Cibber Lady's Last Stake v. Dram. Wks. 1757 II. 226 They are certainly gone out that way, and Sir Friendly must miss of 'em. 1769Burke Corr. (1844) I. 172, I was unluckily in London and so missed of him. 1889N.W. Linc. Gloss., I miss'd on him yisterdaay, though I look'd high an' low fer him.
g. to miss of one's aim: = 1 b.
1621Burton Anat. Mel. iii. ii. vi. v, Penelope had a company of suiters, yet all missed of their aym. 1655Loveday tr. Calprenède's Cleopatra iii. 222 Oroondates enrag'd to have miss'd of his aime, drew his sword and threw himself after Artabon. 1771Foote Maid of Bath iii. Wks. 1799 II. 234 Projects, the most prudentially pointed, may miss of their aim. 1876Lowell Ode for 4th July ii. iii, Time has a quiver full of purposes Which miss not of their aim.
h. To fail to perceive or understand; = 10.
1678R. Barclay Apol. Quakers x. §19. 310 He cannot be certain, but may still miss of the sense of it. 1704Norris Ideal World ii. i. 38 The reason is so very obvious that we cannot well miss of it. 1708Atterbury Serm. (1726) II. vi. 190 These..Perfections of the Deity, are..most easy to be understood by us; upon the least Reflection and Enquiry we cannot miss of them.
i. With gerund: To fail (to do something); = 7 a.
1658Whole Duty Man i. §30 No man can miss of enjoying them [sc. God's mercies], but by his own default. 1663Pepys Diary 20 Sept., He hath not missed one night..of supping with my Lady Castlemaine. 1756Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 268 Since the first murders were committed by the Indians, I have never missed of receiving intelligence of their motions. 1840T. Robbins Diary 12 Aug. (1887) II. 579 Missed of seeing my brother at Enfield. 1868Swinburne Blake 6 With what excellent care and taste this has been done, no one can miss of seeing.
†j. To fail to accomplish (a stroke). Obs.
c1320Sir Tristr. 2389 Eft vrgan smot wiþ main And of þat stroke he miste.
k. To fail to be present at or to witness; = 6 c.
1612Beaum. & Fl. Cupid's Rev. i. ad init., I had mist of this, if you had not call'd me.
l. To escape, avoid; = 8.
1628–9Digby Voy. Medit. (Camd.) 85 [He] told me the Dunkerkers ranged much..about our channell, and that in all probabilities I could not misse of a hott encounter with them.
m. To fail to take advantage of; = 9.
a1628Preston New Covt. (1629) 587 Because they do not effect the thing they go about, when they misse of their time. 1785M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 223 Missing of the opportunity by which I expected to have sent this letter last week.
n. To fail to catch (a boat, etc.); = 9 b.
1777Franklin Lett. Wks. 1889 VI. 56 Should you miss of one at Boulogne, proceed to Calais.
24. miss on ―. To fail to hit upon.
1823Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Amicus redivivus, Trite as the counsel was, and impossible, as one should think, to be missed on.
25. miss out (on) ―. To fail (esp. to achieve something); to make a mistake (over something); to omit; to be omitted.
1929D. Scarborough Can't Get Red Bird xxvii. 405, I feel sorry for a poor sucker that misses out on any one of 'em. 1934Hound & Horn VII. 393 They have a way of missing out on emotional experience, either through timidity and caution or through heroic renunciation. 1938R. Franken Gold Pennies xix. 224 Morton lumbered behind her, fearful that he might be missing out on something. 1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §262/2 Fail,..miss out (on). 1944D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 100 He will lay them according to how he figures their word..if Brandy Bottle misses out. 1952G. W. Brace Spire (1953) xii. 105 It was Flanders who was planning the reception... But he missed out on Wilfred Stearns. 1959Listener 15 Jan. 115/2 We had to by-pass Tippaburra and miss out on that Christmas Eve spree. 1960S. H. Courtier Gently dust Corpse iii. 32 They..had missed out when prosperity hit the Mallee. 1960I. Cross Backward Sex 116 You and I are going to miss out, y' know. 1961J. Wade Back to Life ix. 120 Sorry I missed out on that report. 1963A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 48 We didn't want the kids to miss out... They don't often get the chance to have a bit of fun. 1965M. Morse Unattached i. 38 It's a terrible feeling missing out. 1969New Yorker 12 Apr. 56/2 The motivation derives from the desire not to miss out on any information that could be essential later. 1972National Observer (U.S.) 27 May 21/5 (Advt.), Don't ‘miss out’ on any of the fresh, new kind of reporting that makes The Observer the national newspaper for the business of living.
▪ VI. miss, v.2|mɪs|
[f. miss n.2]
trans. To address as ‘miss’.
1824S. E. Ferrier Inher. xlv, Did you hear how he Miss'd me to-day?—me a married woman! 1863Mrs. Carey Brock Margaret's Secret viii. 115, ‘I am not accustomed to hear myself called Miss Ellis,’..‘Well, you'll be missed here by every one’.
▪ VII. miss
obs. form of mass n.1 |