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Origin and history of error

error(n.)

also, through 18c., errour; c. 1300, "a deviation from truth made through ignorance or inadvertence, a mistake," also "offense against morality or justice; transgression, wrong-doing, sin;" from Old French error "mistake, flaw, defect, heresy," from Latin errorem (nominative error) "a wandering, straying, a going astray; meandering; doubt, uncertainty;" also "a figurative going astray, mistake," from errare "to wander; to err" (see err). From early 14c. as "state of believing or practicing what is false or heretical; false opinion or belief, heresy." From late 14c. as "deviation from what is normal; abnormality, aberration." From 1726 as "difference between observed value and true value."

Words for "error" in most Indo-European languages originally meant "wander, go astray" (for example Greek plane in the New Testament, Old Norse villa, Lithuanian klaida, Sanskrit bhrama-), but Irish has dearmad "error," from dermat "a forgetting."

also from 18c.

Entries linking to error

err(v.)

c. 1300, from Old French errer "go astray, lose one's way; make a mistake; transgress," from Latin errare "wander, go astray," figuratively "be in error," from PIE root *ers- (1) "be in motion, wander around" (source also of Sanskrit arsati "flows;" Old English ierre "angry; straying;" Old Frisian ire "angry;" Old High German irri "angry," irron "astray;" Gothic airziþa "error; deception;" the Germanic words reflecting the notion of anger as a "straying" from normal composure). Related: Erred; erring.

errorless(adj.)

1823, from error + -less.

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    mistake
    mid-14c., "to commit an offense;" late 14c., "to misunderstand, misinterpret, take in a wrong sense," from mis- (1) "badly, wrongly" + take (v.) or from a cognate Scandinavian source such as Old Norse mistaka "take in error, miscarry." Perhaps a blend of both words. The more lite
    fault
    late 13c., faute, "deficiency," from Old French faute, earlier falte, "opening, gap; failure, flaw, blemish; lack, deficiency" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *fallita "a shortcoming, falling," from Latin falsus "deceptive, feigned, spurious," past participle of fallere "deceive, disap
    culpable
    French coupable), from Latin culpabilis "worthy of blame," from culpare "to blame," from culpa "crime, fault, blame, guilt, error...According to his sources, "The original meaning of culpa is 'a state of error' rather than 'an error committed'."...
    mako
    History of Japan," English translation of Engelbert Kaempfer's German manuscript; however this is claimed by some to be an error...If the 1727 citation is an error, the earliest attested use is 1820, from a book on New Zealand languages....
    dwell
    Old English dwellan "to lead into error, deceive, mislead," related to dwelian "to be led into error, go wrong in belief...It had a noun form in Old English, gedweola "error, heresy, madness."...
    peccadillo
    corrupt form peccadilian, 1520s), from Spanish pecadillo, diminutive of pecado "a sin," from Latin peccatum "a sin, fault, error...the word for 'foot', but rather by 'walking.' " He finds a derivation from the root *pet- "to fall" via *pet-ko- "a fall, error...
    renege
    1540s, renegue, "deny, renounce, abandon" (archaic), from Medieval Latin renegare, from Latin re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + negare "to refuse" (from PIE root *ne- "not"). The meaning "change one's mind, go back on (one's word or promise)" is by 1784. OED iden
    distortion
    1580s, "action of distorting; state of being twisted out of shape," from Latin distortionem (nominative distortio), noun of action from past-participle stem of distorquere "to twist different ways, distort," from dis- "completely" (see dis-) + torquere "to twist" (from PIE root *
    blot
    late 14c., "a spot or stain of ink;" also "a moral stain or blemish, a disgrace, a sin;" a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse blettr "blot, stain," or from Old French blot, variant of bloc "block." The Middle English Compendium compares, hesitantly, Old French blo(s

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