Misdelivering

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act or process of delivering something to an incorrect or unintended recipient; failing to send or distribute goods, messages, or items as planned; causing misdirection during transportation or communication
2. Performing the action of sending or handing over items, messages, or packages inaccurately or to the wrong place or person; a failure in the proper conveyance or distribution of materials or information
3. The event of incorrectly transferring possessions, letters, or products due to error or oversight; an unsuccessful or erroneous delivery that results in misplaced or unreceived items or data

Etymology: "Misdelivering" is the present participle of "misdeliver," a verb built from the prefix "mis-" (meaning "wrongly" or "badly") attached to "deliver." The base verb "deliver" came into English from Old French "delivrer," which traces back to Latin "liberare," "to set free," so the core sense is one of handing something over or freeing it from its holder. Adding "mis-" turns that act of handing over into one that goes astray. The pattern is a familiar one in English. Many verbs take "mis-" to describe a failure of the original action, such as "misread," "mislay," or "misplace," and "misdeliver" follows the same logic for goods, letters, and parcels that reach the wrong destination. The word is transparent to a reader: anyone who knows "deliver" and "mis-" can work out its meaning without a dictionary.

Synonyms: misrouting, misplacing, mismailing, misdispatching

Antonyms: correctly delivering, properly delivering, successful delivery