misreport
Meaning
To give a false or inaccurate account of something.
A report that is false or inaccurate.
Structure
Usage
The newspaper was forced to issue a correction after it misreported the financial figures.
The politician accused the media of spreading a deliberate misreport.
It is a serious ethical breach for a journalist to knowingly misreport their sources.
Etymology
The word 'misreport' is a transparent compound formed within English by combining the native Germanic prefix 'mis-' with the Latinate verb 'report'. The prefix 'mis-', with its core sense of "wrong" or "astray," can be traced back to Proto-Germanic and has productive use in English to form words indicating error or fault, such as 'mislead' or 'mistake'. The base 'report' originates from the Latin reportare, composed of re- ("back") and portare ("to carry"), literally meaning to bring back news or information. Therefore, the literal construction "to carry back wrongly" perfectly encapsulates the modern abstract meaning: to give a false or incorrect account of events or facts.
Analysis
- mis: A prefix of Germanic origin (Old English mis-), meaning "badly," "wrongly," or "incorrectly." It functions as a negative or pejorative modifier. - report: A verb/noun of Latin origin (from reportare, "to carry back"), via Anglo-French. It functions as the core lexical base meaning to give a formal account or statement.