mizzle
Preserved but no longer current.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “mizzle” mean?
A frequentative form of MIST in both senses; as applied to weather, it is used by John Gadbury in his Ephemeris in 1695—MISTY and MIZZLING—to come down as mist; while the other sense may be expressed as to fade away like a mist.
Is “mizzle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.