miscarry

From Middle English miscarien, equivalent to mis- +‎ carry.

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -æɹi

miscarry (third-person singular simple present miscarries, present participle miscarrying, simple past and past participle miscarried)

1. (obsolete) To have an unfortunate accident of some kind; to be killed, or come to harm. [14th–18th c.]
2. (now rare) To go astray; to do something wrong. [from 14th c.]
3. To have a miscarriage; to involuntarily abort a foetus. [from 16th c.]
4. To fail to achieve some purpose; to be unsuccessful, to go wrong (of a business, project etc.). [from 16th c.]
   • 1730, Jonathan Swift, "Death And Daphne," in Some Verse Pieces:

     Pluto observing, since the Peace,

     The Burial Article decrease;

     And, vext to see Affairs miscarry,

     Declar'd in Council, Death must marry […]

5. Of a letter etc.: to fail to reach its intended recipient. [from 16th c.]
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Sir Nathaniel, this Biron is one of the votaries with the king; and here he hath framed a letter to a sequent of the stranger queen's, which accidentally, or by the way of progression, hath miscarried.

   • 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter 1, in Rob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, OCLC 82790126:

     It likewise alluded to several letters—which, it appeared to me, must have miscarried or been intercepted […] .

• miscarriage