Etymograph

English

mischief

Mischief comes from Old French meschief ‘misfortune’, from meschever ‘to bring to grief’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘head’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káput2‘head’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaput2‘head’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput3‘head’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*capare3reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chever3‘happen’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400meschever3‘to bring to grief’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400meschief3‘misfortune’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myschef3‘a troubling or unfortunate situation or event’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590mischief3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English mischief
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “[R]eligion / Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput‘head’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, English mischief‘head’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*capareWiktionary, English mischiefreconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cheverWiktionary, English mischief‘happen’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mescheverWiktionary, English mischief‘to bring to grief’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400meschiefWiktionary, English mischief‘misfortune’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myschefWiktionary, English mischief‘a troubling or unfortunate situation or event’
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590mischiefWiktionary, English mischief. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “[R]eligion / Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

had, case, except, heavy, cash, accept, receive, capacity, behavior, catch, capable, cable, heavily, capture, recipe, reception, chase, occupation, perception, haven, achieve, behave, hawk, recipient, anticipation, anticipate, caption, captive, capsule, deception, captivity, cater, susceptible, cassette, conceive, deceive, deceptive, casket, deceit, chassis, 134 more

through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’

head, 60 more

through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’

capitalism, capitalize, capitan, capote, escapade, capitaine, 61 more

through Latin caput ‘head’

capital, captain, chapter, escape, cape, cattle, cabin, capitol, chapel, capita, chef, precipitation, cad, chaplain, capillary, precipitate, capo, cabana, occipital, capa, precipitous, capitulate, caddie, chattel, chieftain, scamper, kaput, chabot, scamp, dishevelled, caput, jefe, capuchin, chaperon, cabochon, 69 more

Today it means

noun Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mischief”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *káput, Latin caput. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / mischief

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