mis fortunate (mis for tun at)

[ We were the poorest of all, madam, and have been mis fortunate from the beginning. Mi Burney, Cecilia, i. 11. That mis fortunate wasting of his strength. Sir H. Taylor , Philip Van Artevelde, II., iv. 4. misfortune (mis-fôr'tūn), n. [ mis -1 + fortune.] 1. Ill fortune; especially, adverse fortune for which the sufferer is not directly responsible; adversity. And never dare misfortune cro her foot. Shak., M. of V., ii. 4. 36. 2. An unfortunate event or circumstance; a mishap or accident; anything that causes harm or disappointment: as, he had the misfortune to break his leg; it was his misfortune, not his fault. By misfortunes was my life prolong'd, To tell sad stories of my own mishaps. Shak., C. of E., i. 1. 120. By misfortune his design'd Alterations did not arrive at Oxford till the Book was almost Printed off. Maundrell, Aleppo to Jerusalem, Pref. For the purposes of the present discu ion [upon bankruptcy "caused by misfortune without any misconduct on the debtor's part"], misfortune is equivalent to some adverse event not immediately dependent on the actions or will of him who suffers from it, and of so improbable a character that no prudent man would take it into his calculations in reference to the interests either of himself or of others. Fry, L. J., L. R. 20 Q. B. 816. 3. A lapse from virtue. [Colloq.] "If you please, ma'am, I had a misfortune , ma'am," replied the girl, casting down her eyes. "What, have you not been married?" "No, ma'am, not yet." Marryat, Midshipman Easy, iii. sarily wide-spread; it is generally sudden, and its imp or tance is in effects upon interests, as marring Fans particular conditions of things. A disaster may befall an individual; a calamity can come to an individual only by affecting his welfare largely, or bringing him into deep distre . A catastrophe is strictly a great misfortune bringing things to an end, a final crash, a finishing stroke: as, this brought on the catastrophe. See affliction.