Misreckon

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /mɪsˈɹɛkən/

Definitions

1. To make an incorrect calculation or error in estimating a quantity or outcome
2. To wrongly compute or judge something due to incorrect reasoning or data
3. To inaccurately assess or count, resulting in a mistaken conclusion

Etymology: "Misreckon" is a plain English compound, built from the prefix "mis-", meaning wrongly or amiss, and the verb "reckon," meaning to count, calculate or estimate. Together they describe counting or assessing something incorrectly, arriving at a mistaken figure or conclusion. The prefix has deep roots. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form, "missazaz," which carried the sense of a miss or failure, and it passed into Old English as "mis-" and then into Middle English as "mys-" before settling into the modern spelling. "Reckon" has an equally old pedigree in Germanic speech, where it meant to count, tell or give an account, and its sense of making a judgement or estimate grew naturally out of that counting. Because "mis-" attaches so readily to verbs of judgement and calculation, English speakers have long been able to form words like this on demand. The result is a transparent word: the meaning of each part is visible in the whole, with no special story attached beyond the ordinary workings of the language.

Synonyms: miscalculate, misjudge, misestimate

Antonyms: calculate, judge, estimate