misreckoning
noun
Misreckoning — an older, narrative word for a faulty calculation
Definition
A mistake in calculating
In depth
Misreckoning is a mistake in calculating, an older and somewhat more literary term than 'miscalculation,' carrying a slightly nautical or navigational flavor inherited from its long association with calculating position, distance, or time. The word suggests an error in working something out methodically rather than a careless slip.
Origin
The word combines the negating prefix 'mis-' with 'reckoning,' from Old English gerecenian, to recount or calculate, the same root behind 'dead reckoning,' the traditional navigational method of calculating position from known speed, course, and time. That nautical heritage lends the word a particular resonance in writing about journeys, both literal and figurative, gone astray through faulty calculation.
Usage examples
"The ship's misreckoning of its position, in an era before satellite navigation, could mean the difference between safe harbor and disaster."
"Historians attribute the expedition's failure to a fundamental misreckoning of the distances involved."
"Her misreckoning of how much time remained left the entire project finished in a desperate, last-minute scramble."
How to use it
Misreckoning is somewhat archaic and literary, less common in contemporary everyday usage than 'miscalculation,' particularly evocative in historical, nautical, or deliberately old-fashioned prose concerned with navigation, time, or calculated position.
Related concepts
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