Mischief is playful or mildly troublesome behavior that causes small problems or annoyances, but not serious harm, like hiding someone’s shoes as a joke. It can also more generally mean harm or damage.
From Old French ‘meschief,’ meaning ‘misfortune’ or ‘harm,’ from ‘mes-’ (badly) and ‘cheoir’ (to fall). The sense softened over time from serious harm to playful trouble, especially with children.
The word once meant real misfortune, not just kids being silly, which shows how our view of ‘naughty’ behavior has softened. We often call children ‘full of mischief’ with a smile, using a word whose ancestors talked about genuine disaster.
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