The Collaborative International Dictionary
Misprision \Mis*pri"sion\, n. [LL. misprisio, or OF. mesprison, prop., a mistaking, but confused with OF. mespris contempt, F. m['e]pris. See 2d Misprise, Misprize, Prison.]
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The act of misprising; misapprehension; misconception; mistake. [Archaic]
--Fuller.The misprision of this passage has aided in fostering the delusive notion.
--Hare. Neglect; undervaluing; contempt. [Obs.]
--Shak.-
(Law) A neglect, negligence, or contempt. Note: In its larger and older sense it was used to signify ``every considerable misdemeanor which has not a certain name given to it in the law.'' --Russell. In a more modern sense it is applied exclusively to two offenses:
Misprision of treason, which is omission to notify the authorities of an act of treason by a person cognizant thereof.
--Stephen.Misprision of felony, which is a concealment of a felony by a person cognizant thereof.
--Stephen.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"wrong action, a failure on the part of authority," early 15c., from Anglo-French mesprisioun "mistake, error, wrong action or speech," from Old French mesprision "mistake, wrongdoing, fault, blame, crime," from mespris, past participle of mesprendre "to mistake, act wrongly, trespass, transgress, break a law," from mes- "wrongly" (see mis- (2)) + prendre "take," from Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere "seize" (see prehensile).\n
\nIn 16c., misprision of treason was used for lesser degrees of guilt (those not subject to capital punishment), especially for knowing of treasonable actions or plots but not informing the authorities. This led to the common supposition in legal writers that the word means "failure to denounce" a crime.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context legal English) Criminal neglect of duty or wrongful execution of official duties. 2 misinterpretation or misunderstanding.
Wikipedia
Misprision (from , modern , "to misunderstand") is a term of English law used to describe certain kinds of offence. Writers on criminal law usually divide misprision into two kinds, negative or positive.
It survives in the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland only in the term misprision of treason.
Usage examples of "misprision".
Eustace had been a prisoner before he was a guest, and Amyas was guilty of something very like misprision of treason in not handing him over to the nearest justice.
Gately was kind of befogged and prone to misprision for well into his first year clean.
Scandalous, it is true, but not calling for the condign punishments of a misprision or of an assassination.
I fear very much that if this business can be proved at all, the best view of the case that can be taken will be, that you have committed misprision of treason, which may subject you to long imprisonment and forfeiture.
So thy great gift, upon misprision growing, Comes home again, on better judgement making.
And all slander against the king, queen, or their issue, was subjected to the penalty of misprision of treason.
To prevent, therefore, all future misprisions, I have compiled this true discourse.
To prevent, therefore, all future misprisions, I have compiled this true discourse.
Everything mental for Gately was kind of befogged and prone to misprision for well into his first year clean.
Capital cases not being mentioned here, accessaries to them will of course be triable for misprisions, if the offender flies.
Parliament was summoned in December, and just before it convened on the sixteenth of January, many of the Duke of Norfolk's relatives were found guilty of misprision of treason for concealing Catherine's lack of chastity.