/rɪˈmɪs/
[adjective] Failing to do something that you should do, or not being careful enough about your responsibilities. If you are remiss, you have been lazy or careless about a duty.
Remiss comes from a Latin word meaning 'sent back' — as if your effort simply turned around and walked away.
The word 'remiss' travels to us from Latin, where the verb 'remittere' meant 'to send back, to slacken, or to let go.' This verb was built from two parts: the prefix 're-', meaning 'back,' and 'mittere', meaning 'to send.' The connection to sending might seem strange when we think about carelessness, but the original Latin idea was of tension being released — like a bowstring going slack. To be remiss was, at its heart, to let go of the effort you were supposed to hold onto.
From 'remittere' came the Latin adjective 'remissus', which described something loosened, relaxed, or weak. This is the direct ancestor of the English word. Interestingly, 'remissus' in classical Latin was used both physically — to describe a slack rope or a gentle wind — and morally, to describe a person who had become lax in their duties. The leap from a loose string to a lazy person was a natural one for Latin writers, who often used physical images to describe character.
The word entered English in the 15th century, most likely through educated writers and clerics who read Latin texts. At first, English used 'remiss' in a broader way, sometimes meaning 'mild' or 'gentle' as well as 'negligent.' Over time, the word narrowed its focus almost entirely onto the moral sense — the idea of someone who has failed to do what was expected of them. The physical meanings faded away, and what remained was a word for a particular kind of quiet failure: not dramatic wrongdoing, but simple, disappointing neglect.
The same Latin root 'mittere' — meaning 'to send' — is the source of a surprisingly large family of common English words. Latin 'mittere' became Old French 'mettre', giving English words like 'message' (via Old French 'message') and 'mission' (directly from Latin 'missio', the act of sending). The prefix 're-' combined with 'mittere' also gave us 'remit' (to send money or to cancel a debt), 'remittance' (money sent as payment), and even 'remission' (the easing or sending away of illness or punishment). Each of these words carries that same core idea of something being released or directed outward.
What makes 'remiss' particularly interesting is how quietly judgmental it is. It does not accuse someone of lying or cruelty — it simply notes an absence, a gap where effort should have been. In that way, the word has kept its original Latin spirit perfectly intact: something that was once held tight has simply gone slack. When we call someone remiss, we are saying, in a very old and very precise way, that they let the string go loose.