'misallocate' originates from the prefix 'mis-' meaning 'wrongly' and the verb 'allocate' from Latin 'allocare', where 'ad-' meant 'to' and 'locare' meant 'place'.

'allocare' transformed into the French word 'allouer', and eventually became the modern English word 'allocate'. The prefix 'mis-' was added to form 'misallocate'.

Initially, it meant 'to place wrongly', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.