'misremember' originates from Old English prefix 'mis-' and Middle English 'rememberen' (from Old French 'remembrer' and ultimately Latin 'rememorare'), where 'mis-' meant 'wrongly' and Latin root 'memor' meant 'mindful' or 'remembering'.

'misremember' developed from Middle English formations combining the negative prefix 'mis-' with 'rememberen' (Middle English form of 'remember'), eventually becoming the modern English verb 'misremember'.

Initially used simply as a negative formation meaning 'to remember wrongly' or 'to fail to remember correctly'; this basic sense has remained stable into modern usage.