Etymologically
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error

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈer.ə/, US /ˈer.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English errour,[2][3] borrowed from Old French error (“mistake, flaw, defect, heresy”), errour,[4][2] from Latin error (“a wandering, straying; doubt; mistake”),[4][2] from errāre “to wander, err”,[4][2][5] the source of err.[4][2] The usual spelling until the end of the 18th century was errour, as in Johnson's Dictionary.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The condition of erring, holding mistaken opinions: before 1300 in the OED, probably before 1300 in Barnhart, in Arthour and Merlin.[6][2] A mistake, and an offence against morality: about 1300 in Etymonline,[4] about 1303 in Barnhart, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.[2]

Semantic evolution

False belief or heresy is from the early 14th century,[4] and deviation from what is normal, an aberration, from the late 14th century.[4] A flaw in the making of a thing is from 1398,[6] and in law a mistake in the proceedings of a court from 1495.[6] The literal sense, roaming or wandering, appears in English from 1594, after Latin.[6] In science, the difference between an observed and a true value is from 1726.[4] Words for error in most Indo-European languages originally meant “to wander, go astray”, while Irish dearmad is from “a forgetting”.[4]

Timeline

  • a. 1300 – the condition of erring.[6][2]
  • c. 1303 – a mistake.[2]
  • 1398 – a flaw.[6]
  • 1495 – in law.[6]
  • 1594 – a wandering.[6]
  • 1726 – in measurement.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A mistake; an act, statement or belief that is wrong.
  2. The state of being wrong: in error.
  3. A wrongdoing or sin.
  4. (mathematics, science) The difference between a computed or measured value and the true one.
  5. (baseball) A misplay by a fielder.

Word family

  • errorless
  • errorlessly
  • error bar
  • probable error
  • standard error
  • trial and error
  • type I error
  • type II error
  • err
  • errant
  • erroneous
  • erratic
  • erratum
  • aberration

Usage notes

Error, mistake, oversight and offence all refer to what is not in accord with truth, accuracy or propriety; error suggests a departure from the correct path, often moral.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin