[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

misfeature \misfea"ture\, n.
   ill feature. r. --keats.
   1913 webster

[2] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

misfeature /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee`chr/ n. common a feature that
   eventually causes lossage, possibly because it is not adequate for a new
   situation that has evolved. since it results from a deliberate and
   properly implemented feature, a misfeature is not a bug. nor is it a
   simple unforeseen side effect; the term implies that the feature in
   question was carefully planned, but its long-term consequences were not
   accurately or adequately predicted which is quite different from not
   having thought ahead at all. a misfeature can be a particularly
   stubborn problem to resolve, because fixing it usually involves a
   substantial philosophical change to the structure of the system
   involved.

   many misfeatures especially in user-interface design arise because
   the designers/implementors mistake their personal tastes for laws of
   nature. often a former feature becomes a misfeature because trade-offs
   were made whose parameters subsequently change possibly only in the
   judgment of the implementors. "well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature
   that file names are limited to six characters, but the original
   implementors wanted to save directory space and we're stuck with it for
   now."

[3] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

misfeature
     
        /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee"chr/ a feature that eventually
        causes lossage, possibly because it is not adequate for a new
        situation that has evolved.  since it results from a
        deliberate and properly implemented feature, a misfeature is
        not a bug.  nor is it a simple unforeseen side effect; the
        term implies that the feature in question was carefully
        planned, but its long-term consequences were not accurately or
        adequately predicted which is quite different from not having
        thought ahead at all.  a misfeature can be a particularly
        stubborn problem to resolve, because fixing it usually
        involves a substantial philosophical change to the structure
        of the system involved.
     
        many misfeatures especially in user-interface design arise
        because the designers/implementors mistake their personal
        tastes for laws of nature.  often a former feature becomes a
        misfeature because trade-offs were made whose parameters
        subsequently change possibly only in the judgment of the
        implementors.  "well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature that
        file names are limited to six characters, but the original
        implementors wanted to save directory space and we"re stuck
        with it for now."
     
     

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Misfeature, definition of term: Misfeature
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