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miss

Origin: Contr. Fr. Mistress.

1. A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a girl or a woman who has not been married. See mistress.

There is diversity of usage in the application of this title to two or more persons of the same name. We may write either the miss browns or the Misses Brown.

2. A young unmarried woman or a girl; as, she is a miss of sixteen. Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses. (Cawthorn)

3. A kept mistress. See Mistress.

4. In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.

1. To fail of hitting, reaching, getting, finding, seeing, hearing, etc.; as, to miss the mark one shoots at; to miss the train by being late; to miss opportunites of getting knowledge; to miss the point or meaning of something said. When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right. (locke)

2. To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to dispense with; now seldom applied to persons. She would never miss, one day, A walk so fine, a sight so gay. (prior) We cannot miss him; he does make our fire, fetch in our wood. (Shak)

3. To discover the absence or [[omi 6bd ssion]] of; to feel the want of; to mourn the loss of; to want. Neither missed we anything . Nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him. (1 sam. Xxv. 15, 21) What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss. (milton) To miss stays.

See stay.

Origin: AS. Missan; akin to D. & G. Missen, OHG. Missan, Icel. Missa, Sw. Mista, Dan. Miste. 100. See Mis-, pref.