Mislocated

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Being in a location that is incorrect or unintended
2. Signifying an object or individual that has been inaccurately placed or positioned elsewhere
3. Situated somewhere other than the intended or correct place

Etymology: "Mislocated" is the past form of "mislocate," which is built from the prefix "mis-," meaning wrongly or badly, attached to "locate," from Latin "locare," to place. The pattern is simple: "mis-" joins verbs such as "judge," "place," and "spell" to form the sense of doing the action wrongly, so "mislocate" means to place something in the wrong spot. The past form then describes the result, something that has been put somewhere it should not be. The prefix is one of English's most productive, able to attach to almost any verb and create a new word on the spot, which is why the formation feels so transparent. "Locate" itself carries the sense of fixing something in a particular place, and "mislocate" simply reverses that sense by adding the idea of error.

Synonyms: misplaced, dislocated, misdirected