Mislead
/ˌmɪsˈliːd/noun
To cause someone to believe something that is not true or to guide someone in the wrong direction.
Did you know?The prefix **mis-** is an old Germanic “wrongly/badly” marker, so *mislead* is not a mystical word—but it does preserve the ancient idea that error can be built directly into speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*ga-laubjaną
“to cause to believe; to trust”
Old English
OE
mislædan
“to lead astray, go wrong”
Old English
OE
mis-
“wrongly, badly, amiss”
Middle English
ME
misleden
“to lead astray; deceive”
Modern English
English
mislead
“to cause someone to be deceived or to go in the wrong direction”