Misprision - plus, A Note on the Nonbinary 'They'

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY September 20, 2019 misprision [Audio pronunciation]( noun | mis-PRIZH-un Definition 1 a : neglect or wrong performance of official duty b : concealment of treason or felony by one who is not a participant in the treason or felony c : [seditious]( conduct against the government or the courts 2 : [misunderstanding]( [misinterpretation]( Scroll down for more about misprision TRENDING NOW: [dastardly]( [stymie]( [what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander]( [prorogue]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING [A Note on the Nonbinary 'They']( [The History of 'Meme']( [We Added New Words to the Dictionary for September 2019]( [7 Words from the Working World]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [The Exceptions Quiz III]( Which of these things doesn't belong? [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? All but one of the following words traces back to Latin prehendere, meaning "to seize." Which word doesn't belong? apprehend - comprehend - misprision - misprize - prison - surprise It's easy to see the prehendere connection in [apprehend]( and [comprehend]( whereas you may be surprised that [surprise]( is from prehendere (via Anglo-French susprendre, meaning "to capture" or "to take by surprise"). [Prison]( too, is from prehendere by way of Anglo-French. And [misprision]( comes to us by way of Anglo-French mesprisun ("error, wrongdoing"), from mesprendre ("to take by mistake"), itself from prehendere. The only word that's out of place is [misprize]( meaning "to despise" or "to undervalue." It's ultimately from Latin pretium, meaning "value," but—in a trick move that perhaps only English could pull off—misprize has also given us a related noun meaning "contempt, scorn," in the form of an etymologically distinct [misprision](. Examples of MISPRISION The article asserts that the health guru's recommendations are based on a misprision of what it means to be healthy. "The charge, misprision of a felony, is one prosecutors often deploy against defendants who have agreed to help the government make its case." — [Grace Toohey, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), 8 Mar. 2019]( Test Your Vocabulary What word refers to the willful disobedience to or open disrespect of a court, judge, or legislative body? [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( SHARE: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA, 01102, USA [www.merriam-webster.com]( | [Privacy Policy]( © 2019 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.