Mistook

Mistook is the simple past tense of the English verb to mistake. It indicates that someone incorrectly identified, understood, or perceived someone or something in the past. It is used transitively with a direct object or with a clause, as in I mistook her for my sister, or I mistook the noise for rain.

In grammar, mistook forms the finite past tense; the corresponding past participle is mistaken. Mistook is common in both formal and informal registers and can describe mistaken perceptions or beliefs that occurred previously. The related adjective form is mistaken, as in a mistaken identity or a mistaken belief.

Etymology and usage notes: The verb to mistake originates from older forms in English and has an irregular past tense. The present tense is mistake, the past tense is mistook, and the past participle is mistaken. This irregularity is a characteristic of many Germanic-origin verbs, and mistook is frequently used in everyday speech to indicate error in perception, judgment, or identification.

In culture and media, Mistook may appear as a title or name for various artistic works or fictional characters. Because it is a common English verb, it is sometimes used as a proper noun in titles, which can require contextual clarification to avoid ambiguity.