Mislay: meaning, definitions and examples

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mislay

[ mɪsˈleɪ ]

^{Context #1}

everyday life

To lose or misplace something temporarily by forgetting where it was placed.

Synonyms

lose, misplace, misplace

Examples of usage

I seem to have mislaid my keys again.
She mislaid her phone and couldn't find it for hours.

^{Context #2}

formal

To misplace or lose an object by unintentionally putting it in the wrong place.

Synonyms

lose, misplace, misplace

Examples of usage

He mislaid the important document and had to search for it frantically.
The ring was mislaid during the move and was found months later.

Translations

Translations of the word "mislay" in other languages:

🇵🇹 perder

🇮🇳 खो देना

🇩🇪 verlegen

🇮🇩 kehilangan

🇺🇦 загубити

🇵🇱 zgubić

🇯🇵 置き忘れる (oki wasureru)

🇫🇷 égarer

🇪🇸 extraviar

🇹🇷 kaybetmek

🇰🇷 잃어버리다 (il-eobeolida)

🇸🇦 فقد

🇨🇿 ztratit

🇸🇰 stratiť

🇨🇳 丢失 (diūshī)

🇸🇮 izgubiti

🇮🇸 týna

🇰🇿 жоғалту

🇬🇪 დაკარგვა

🇦🇿 itirmək

🇲🇽 extraviar

Word origin

The word 'mislay' originated from Middle English 'misleyen', which meant 'to lose, to destroy'. Over time, the prefix 'mis-' came to signify 'badly, wrongly', and 'lay' referred to 'to place'. Therefore, 'mislay' evolved to mean 'to place wrongly or badly', leading to the modern definition of losing or misplacing something temporarily.

See also: lay, layabout, layer, layoff, layout, layover, outlay, outlays, relay.