Miscarry

Miscarry

Verb · /ˌmɪsˈkær.i/

Definition

To suffer a miscarriage (of a pregnancy); (of a plan, scheme, or course of action) to go wrong, fail, or come to nothing; historically, of a letter or message — to fail to reach its intended destination.

Origin

From mis- (wrongly, from Old English mis-) + carry (from Old North French carier, to carry, transport, from Latin carrus, wheeled vehicle). The compound thus means to carry wrongly or to fail in carrying. The verb appears in English from the 15th century, the pregnancy sense and the plan-failure sense both being early uses. The letter-miscarriage sense — a message failing to arrive — was common in 18th-century correspondence and reflected the unreliable postal system of that era.