English
mischievous
Mischievous comes from Middle English myschevous ‘Sorrowful, distraught’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myschevous1‘Sorrowful, distraught’
- Englishearliest quotation 1793mischievous1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English mischievous
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1793, Joseph Butler: “...; that good and bad actions at present are…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myschevousWiktionary, English mischievous‘Sorrowful, distraught’
- Englishearliest quotation 1793mischievousWiktionary, English mischievous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1793, Joseph Butler: “...; that good and bad actions at present are…”
Equivalent to mischief + -ous
Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
…
Old French chever ‘happen’
Old French meschever ‘to bring to grief’
Old French meschief ‘misfortune’
Middle English myschef ‘a troubling or unfortunate situation or event’
English mischief
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
had, case, except, heavy, cash, accept, receive, capacity, catch, behavior, capable, cable, heavily, capture, chase, recipe, reception, occupation, perception, haven, behave, achieve, 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’
through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’
capitalism, capitalize, capitan, escapade, capitaine, 61 more
through Latin caput ‘the head’
capital, captain, chapter, escape, cape, cattle, cabin, capitol, chapel, capita, precipitation, cad, chaplain, capillary, precipitate, cabana, occipital, capa, capote, capitulate, chieftain, caddie, chattel, precipitous, scamper, chabot, scamp, kaput, capuchin, caput, dishevelled, chaperon, cabochon, 68 more
through Vulgar Latin capus
through Old French chief ‘head’
Today it means
adj Causing mischief; injurious.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mischievous”. 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 / Middle English myschevous / mischievous