Etymograph

English

mistake

Mistake comes from Middle English mistaken, from Old Norse mistaka ‘to take in error’; the noun is derived from the verb.

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350mistaka1‘to take in error’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mistaken1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1595mistake1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English mistake
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Miſtake me not, my Lord, ’tis not my meaning…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350mistakaWiktionary, English mistake‘to take in error’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mistakenWiktionary, English mistake
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1595mistakeWiktionary, English mistake. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Miſtake me not, my Lord, ’tis not my meaning…”

The story

The noun, which replaced earlier mistaking, is derived from the verb.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Old Norse mistaka

Today it means

verb To understand wrongly, taking one thing or person for another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mistake”. 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 / Old Norse mistaka / mistake

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