An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/mis

by Friedrich Kluge

mis, miß, ‘mis-, dis-, amiss, wrong,’ in compounds; from Middle High German misse-, Old High German missa-, missi-, which express the perversity or failure of an action; compare Gothic missadêþs (Old High German missitât, Middle High German and Modern High German missetât), ‘sin,’ missataujands, ‘sinner,’ Gothic missa-, for *miþtó- (literally ‘lost’), is an old to- participle from the root miþ (see meiden); compare Old Irish mí, ‘amiss.’ Hence the derivative missen.