imperfection

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English imperfeccioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman imperfection and Middle French imperfeccion,^[5] and directly borrowed from Late Latin imperfectiō (“incompleteness, unfinished state”).^[5][3][4][6] The Old French form is recorded from the 12th century as imperfectiun,^[5] and the Latin noun from the 4th century,^[5] formed from imperfectus (“unfinished, incomplete”), the source of imperfect, with the noun ending -iō.^[5][3] The OED adds that the Latin noun was originally modelled on Ancient Greek ἀκατάρτιστον (akatártiston).^[5] The adjective imperfectus is formed from in- (“not”) and perfectus (“finished, complete”).^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Incompleteness, lack: in Chaucer's Parson's Tale, about 1390, Christ is wholly good and "in hym is noon imperfeccioun".^[2] The OED's first quotation, before 1398 in Trevisa, has both the condition of being imperfect and a particular defect.^[5] Etymonline gives the late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English Dictionary lists incompleteness and defectiveness beside moral weakness or sinfulness, and, in astrology, an evil influence.^[2] The sense "a defect, a fault" was used in English before French, which has the singular in this sense only from the late 16th century, according to the OED;^[5] Etymonline dates "an instance of being imperfect" to the early 15th century.^[3] In early music theory it named the shortening of a note to two instead of three of the next lower value (1561),^[5][4] printers used it for a letter missing from a font (1669),^[5] and bookbinders for a surplus, missing or spoiled sheet (1683).^[5][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as a defect or fault, "whether physical or moral; whether of persons or things".^[8] A rare alternative, unperfection, also dates from the late 14th century.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – incompleteness, lack.^[2]
• before 1398 – defectiveness; also a particular defect or flaw.^[5]
• 1561 – in early music, the making of a note twice rather than three times the length of the next lower one.^[5]
• 1669 – in printing, a letter missing from a font.^[5]
• 1683 – in bookbinding, a surplus, missing or spoiled sheet.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The condition of being imperfect; incompleteness or faultiness.^[9][4][5]
2. A particular fault, flaw or blemish: She sanded out every imperfection in the tabletop.^[9][4][5]
3. (music) In mensural notation, the division of a note into two rather than three of the next lower value.^[4][5]
4. (printing) A sheet that is missing, spoiled or rejected.^[4][5]
5. (printing) A letter missing from a font, or a piece of type supplied to make it up.^[5]

Related words

• imperfect
• perfect
• perfection

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins