An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/mis

by Friedrich Kluge

mis, miß, ‘mis-, dis-, amiss, wrong,’ in compounds; from MidHG. misse-, OHG. missa-, missi-, which express the perversity or failure of an action; comp. Goth. missadêþs (OHG. missitât, MidHG. and ModHG. missetât), ‘sin,’ missataujands, ‘sinner,’ Goth. missa-, for *miþtó- (lit. ‘lost’), is an old to- partic. from the root miþ (see meiden); comp. OIr. mí, ‘amiss.’ Hence the derivative missen.