Mischance - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mis·chance

Audio Help [mis-chans, -chahns] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a mishap or misfortune.

[Origin: 1250–1300; mis-¹ + chance; r. ME mescheance < OF

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Mischance

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mis·chance Audio Help (mĭs-chāns') Pronunciation Key
n.

An unfortunate occurrence; a mishap.
Bad luck.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mischance

1297, from O.Fr. meschance, from V.L. *minuscadentiam; see mis- (2) + chance. Now usually "bad luck;" formerly much stronger: "calamity, disaster."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

mischance
noun
1.	an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate; "if I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all" [syn: bad luck]
2.	an instance of misfortune [syn: mishap]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mischance [misˈtʃaːns] noun

(a piece of) bad luck

Arabic:	سوء حَظ
Chinese (Simplified):	不幸
Chinese (Traditional):	不幸
Czech:	smůla
Danish:	uheld
Dutch:	wanbof
Estonian:	äpardus
Finnish:	epäonni
French:	malchance
German:	der Unfall
Greek:	ατυχία
Hungarian:	balszerencse
Icelandic:	óheppni
Indonesian:	kemalangan
Italian:	disavventura, sfortuna

Japanese:	不運
Korean:	불행, 불운
Latvian:	neveiksme
Lithuanian:	nelaimė, nesėkmė
Norwegian:	ulykke, uhell
Polish:	pech
Portuguese (Brazil):	azar
Portuguese (Portugal):	azar
Romanian:	ghinion
Russian:	невезение
Slovak:	smola
Slovenian:	smola
Spanish:	desgracia, mala suerte
Swedish:	missöde, otur
Turkish:	talihsizlik

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mischance

Ca*lam"i*ty\n.; pl. Calamities. [L. calamitas, akin to in-columis unharmed: cf. F. calamit['e]]

1. Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals.

Note: The word calamity was first derived from calamus when the corn could not get out of the stalk. --Bacon.

Strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul. --W. Irving.

2. A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery.

The deliberations of calamity are rarely wise. --Burke.

Where'er I came I brought calamity. --Tennyson.

Syn: Disaster; distress; affliction; adversity; misfortune; unhappiness; infelicity; mishap; mischance; misery; evil; extremity; exigency; downfall.

Usage: Calamity, Disaster, Misfortune, Mishap, Mischance. Of these words, calamity is the strongest. It supposes a somewhat continuous state, produced not usually by the direct agency of man, but by natural causes, such as fire, flood, tempest, disease, etc, Disaster denotes literally ill-starred, and is some unforeseen and distressing event which comes suddenly upon us, as if from hostile planet. Misfortune is often due to no specific cause; it is simply the bad fortune of an individual; a link in the chain of events; an evil independent of his own conduct, and not to be charged as a fault. Mischance and mishap are misfortunes of a trivial nature, occurring usually to individuals. "A calamity is either public or private, but more frequently the former; a disaster is rather particular than private; it affects things rather than persons; journey, expedition, and military movements are often attended with disasters; misfortunes are usually personal; they immediately affect the interests of the individual." --Crabb.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mischance

Mis*chance"\, n. [OE. meschance, OF. mescheance.] Ill luck; ill fortune; mishap. --Chaucer.

Never come mischance between us twain. --Shak.

Syn: Calamity; misfortune; misadventure; mishap; infelicity; disaster. See Calamity.

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