misdemean en · VERB
Etymology
From mis- + demean.
Meanings
-
(archaic, reflexive) With a reflexive pronoun: to cause (oneself) to behave badly.
[Y]ou that beſt ſhould teach vs, / Haue miſdemean'd your ſelfe, and not a little: / Tovvard the King firſt, then his Lavves, in filling / The vvhole Realme, by your teaching & your Chaplaines / (for ſo vve are inform'd) vvith nevv opinions, / Diuers and dangerous; vvhich are Hereſies; / And not reform'd, may proue pernicious.
1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 220, column 1:he misdemeaned himself
- (intransitive) To misbehave.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| misdemeaned | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| misdemeaned | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| misdemeaning | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| misdemeans | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |