Misspelt

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Describing a term written with incorrect spelling; referring to the incorrect formation of words due to errors in letter arrangement; characterizing a word or phrase not adhering to standard orthographic conventions
2. Indicating the state of a word that has been spelled improperly; relating to a lexical item that lacks correct sequencing of letters; denoting an error in the typical spelling of a term
3. Pertaining to a written form that contains spelling mistakes; signifying a deviation from recognized written norms in word construction; marking a word or expression with faulty letter arrangement from the accepted standard

Etymology: "Misspelt" is simply "mis-" attached to "spelt," the past participle of "spell." The prefix "mis-" traces back through Old English, where it meant "wrongly" or "amiss," to a Proto-Germanic root, *missa-, which carried the sense of a fault or failing. Its ancestry goes back further still to a Proto-Indo-European root, though in English the prefix has long been a productive way of marking error, so "misspelt" reads plainly as "spelt wrongly." The verb "spell" itself comes from a different path. Its base sense was to relate or tell in order, and only later came to mean setting out the letters of a word. "Misspelt" therefore combines an ancient prefix meaning "amiss" with a word whose older meaning was to recount, so that the new formation describes a set of letters put together incorrectly.

Synonyms: misspelled, incorrectly spelled, mispelled

Antonyms: correctly spelled, spelled correctly