I. mə̇ˈsprizhən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French mesprison error, wrongdoing, from Old French, from mespris, past participle of mesprendre to make a mistake, do wrong, from mes- mis- (I) + prendre to take, from Latin prehendere to seize, grasp — more at get
1.
a. : neglect or wrong performance of official duty : misconduct or maladministration by a public official : misdemeanor
b. : a clerical error in a legal proceeding that can be corrected in a summary manner as distinguished from judicial error for the correction of which formal appellate or other procedure is required
c. : the active or passive concealment of treason or felony from the prosecuting authorities by one not guilty of those crimes
misprision of treason
misprision of felony
d. : a contempt against the government, the sovereign, or the courts (as lese majesty or disloyal or seditious conduct)
2. : a misunderstanding in which one thing is taken for another : mistake
more than misprision of the fact — Robert Browning
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: misprise (I) + -ion (as in misprision ) (I)
: contempt , scorn : depreciation , disparagement
expressed his evident misprision of realism and other modern modes of literature — J.P.Bishop
with a refined misprision of her country … lived in exile — Ellery Sedgwick