miss
Latinsend, let go
About This Root
The root miss / mit comes from Latin mittere, "to send, to let go, to release." Picture a Roman commander giving an order: a messenger is dispatched, an arrow is let fly, troops are sent off. That single act of sending is the seed of one of the most productive word families in English.
Latin verbs have two stems, and mittere left us both. The present stem mitt- survives in the verbs: e-mit, sub-mit, trans-mit, per-mit, com-mit, ad-mit, o-mit, re-mit. The past-participle stem miss- (from missus, "having been sent") survives in the nouns and a few special words: mis-sion, e-mission, sub-mission, trans-mission, mis-sile, mis-sive. So almost every -mit verb has a matching -mission noun: submit → submission, transmit → transmission, emit → emission. Recognizing this pairing unlocks dozens of words at once.
The real power is in the prefixes, each one steering the direction of the sending:
- e- (out) + mit → emit: send out (light, heat, gas)
- trans- (across) + mit → transmit: send across
- ad- (to) + mit → admit: send toward → let in; and figuratively, let a truth in → confess
- per- (through) + mit → permit: let pass through → allow
- sub- (under) + mit → submit: send oneself under another's power → yield; or send a document up for review
- re- (back) + mit → remit: send back → return money (remittance) or send away a punishment → forgive a debt
- o- (a worn-down ob-, away) + mit → omit: send away → leave out
- dis- (apart) + miss → dismiss: send apart → send away, let go
- com- (together) + mit → commit: send/place together → entrust, then hand over completely to an action (commit a crime) or to a promise (commit to a plan)
A few members wandered far from "send" and are worth flagging. mission began as "the act of being sent" (a religious or military dispatch) and became "a purpose one is sent to fulfill." missile is literally "a thing fit to be thrown/sent." message traveled through Latin missaticum and Old French into "something sent" — a communication. And the pro-mit branch (pro- = forward) gives promise ("sent forward" as a pledge) and compromise (mutual promises sent forth to meet in the middle).
The takeaway: whenever you see mit or miss inside a word, something is being sent or let go. Find the prefix, and you usually have the direction.
Think of a missile being launched — it is literally "a thing sent flying." Every mit/miss word is about sending something somewhere: emit sends out, transmit sends across, submit sends under, dismiss sends away. The prefix is the direction; mit/miss is always the "send."
Core Words Deep Dive
The few words from this family worth telling in full — one by one.
commitcom- (together) + mittere (send) = "to send/place together, to entrust." This is the family's biggest semantic leap.
com- (together) + mittere (send) = "to send/place together, to entrust." This is the family's biggest semantic leap. From "entrust something to someone" it split two ways: to hand a deed over into existence — commit a crime, commit an error (you "put it into the world"); and to hand yourself over to a course — commit to a relationship, a committed activist. Both senses share the core image of giving something over completely, with no taking back.
Open commitmissionFrom missus, "having been sent." Originally "the act of sending someone forth" — a religious mission (sending people to spread faith) or a military mission (troops sent on a task).
From missus, "having been sent." Originally "the act of sending someone forth" — a religious mission (sending people to spread faith) or a military mission (troops sent on a task). The meaning then shifted from the sending to the purpose: today a mission is the goal you were sent to achieve, even self-assigned (a personal mission, a mission statement).
Open missioncompromisecom- (together) + pro- (forward) + missus (sent) = "a mutual sending-forward of promises." Originally both sides in a dispute would send forward a joint pledge to abide by an arbitrator's decision.
com- (together) + pro- (forward) + missus (sent) = "a mutual sending-forward of promises." Originally both sides in a dispute would send forward a joint pledge to abide by an arbitrator's decision. From that, compromise came to mean meeting in the middle by each giving something up. A darker modern sense — "compromise security" — comes from the idea of weakening or endangering by yielding.
Open compromisemissileFrom Latin missilis, "that which can be thrown/sent," from missus.
From Latin missilis, "that which can be thrown/sent," from missus. Originally any object hurled as a weapon — a stone, a spear ("the crowd threw missiles"). With modern warfare it narrowed to a self-propelled guided weapon. The root meaning is pure: a missile is, literally, "a thing sent flying."
Open missilesubmitsub- (under) + mittere (send) = "to send oneself under." The two modern senses both flow from this: to yield (place yourself under another's authority — submit to the rules) and to hand in (send a document up under someone's review — submit an application).
sub- (under) + mittere (send) = "to send oneself under." The two modern senses both flow from this: to yield (place yourself under another's authority — submit to the rules) and to hand in (send a document up under someone's review — submit an application). Same image, two directions: putting yourself down, or sending your work up.
Open submitRelated Roots
Both can mean "carry/bring," but mittere is about sending or releasing something away from you (emit, transmit, dismiss), while fer (from ferre) is about bearing or carrying along with you (transfer, refer, offer). Quick test: letting it go → mit/miss; carrying it → fer.
port (portāre) means physically transporting goods from place to place; mittere means sending or dispatching, often something abstract (a signal, a message, permission) or released into the air (emissions). Trucks carry (port); senders dispatch (mit).
Associated Words · 88
message
a communication or information; to send a message
admit
To acknowledge something as true; to allow entry or membership
mission
An important task or assignment; a strongly felt purpose or goal
commit
To carry out an act; to pledge oneself to something
committee
A group appointed to carry out a specific task or make decisions
promise
a commitment to do something; to make a pledge
commitment
A promise or pledge; dedication to a cause or obligation
permit
To allow or give permission; an official document granting authorization
missile
A self-propelled guided weapon; any object thrown as a weapon
commission
Official authority to act; a percentage-based fee; to officially authorize
dismiss
To discharge from employment; to send away; to refuse to consider seriously
emission
The release or discharge of gas, light, heat, etc.
admission
Permission to enter; an acknowledgment of the truth of something
submit
To hand in for consideration; to yield to another's authority
permission
Official consent or authorization to do something
transmission
The sending of signals, power, or disease from one place to another; a vehicle's gearbox
compromise
A mutual agreement through concessions; to settle by giving up something; to put at risk
commissioner
An official appointed to a position of authority in a government or organization
premise
A statement assumed as the basis for an argument; a building and its grounds
transmit
To send or pass something from one person or place to another
missionary
A person sent to spread religion abroad; relating to such work
omit
To leave out or exclude something
emit
To send out or release light, heat, sound, or gas
committed
Dedicated and loyal to a cause or obligation