Mis-pris'ion, n.

(mis-prĭzh'un), n. [L. Lat. misprisio. See infra, and cf. Fr. mépris, contempt.] 1. The act of misprising; misapprehension; misconception; mistake. [Obs. or rare.] Many, mistaking gradual for specifical differences amongst orders, have almost doubled their true number on that misprision. Fuller. The misprision of this passage has aided in fostering the delusive notion. Hare.

2. Neglect; oversight; contempt. [Obs.] Shak.
3. (Law.) (a.) A neglect, negligence, or contempt; as, misprision of treason, or felony, is a neglect or light account made of treason or felony, by not revealing it, when one has a bare knowledge of it, without any degree of assent thereto. Positive misprisions are generally termed contempts or high misdemeanors. Maladministration in offices of high public trust is a positive misprision. Misdemeanors have been sometimes termed misprisions. Cowell. Blount. Brande. Wharton. Blackstone. (b.) Neglect, oversight, or mistake, as of a clerk in writing or keeping a record.