mishappy

English

Etymology

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

Adjective

mishappy (comparative more mishappy, superlative most mishappy)

1. (rare, nonstandard) 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.

   • 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

References

• “mishappy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.