failure

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈfeɪ.ljə/, US /ˈfeɪl.jɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration, under the influence of the ending -ure, of earlier failer,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman failer, the infinitive of the Old French verb faillir (“to be lacking; not succeed”) used as a noun.^[3][2][4] It is related to fail.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A failing to occur or be performed: 1641 in the OED.^[5] Etymonline dates failer, a failing or deficiency, to the 1640s,^[3] and the New Oxford gives the first senses as non-occurrence and the cutting off of supply.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The ending was altered in the 17th century to match words in -ure.^[3] Lack of success is from 1643,^[5][2] running short or breaking down from 1695,^[5] and failure in business, bankruptcy, from 1702.^[5] A person or thing that proves unsuccessful is from 1837.^[3][5] Middle English had other nouns, such as failard “a person given to faults” (about 1300), failment and failinge “neglect of one's duties”.^[3]

Timeline

• 1641 – a failing to occur.^[5]
• 1643 – lack of success.^[5][2]
• 1695 – breakdown, running short.^[5]
• 1702 – bankruptcy.^[5]
• 1837 – an unsuccessful person.^[3][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Lack of success.
2. A person or thing that fails.
3. A falling short; deficiency: crop failure.
4. A breakdown in functioning: heart failure.
5. A neglect or omission of what is required: failure to pay.
6. Bankruptcy.

Word family

• nonfailure

Related words

• fail-safe
• fail
• fallible
• false
• fault
• default

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press