error

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɛr.rɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛr.ror]^[1]

Forms

error m (genitive errōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from errō “to wander, err” with the suffix -or.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of doubt and perplexity.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant wandering, roaming, as of Ceres in Cicero, of things and of rolling eyes, and in Catullus the winding course of a labyrinth.^[2][5][6] From Plautus it meant uncertainty, doubt, in Horace going astray, and in Cicero derangement of the mind.^[2] From Terence it meant a mistake, error, and in Cicero a moral lapse.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant error, deception, mistake.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for false belief, heresy, and a miscarriage of justice.^[8] British Medieval Latin also used it for the wandering of the planets.^[9] English error came about 1300, through Old French.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of perplexity.^[2][4]
• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of a mistake.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of wandering and of madness.^[2][4]
• c. 1300 – English error is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Wandering, roaming; a winding course.^[2]
2. Doubt, perplexity.^[2]
3. Going astray.^[2]
4. Derangement.^[2]
5. A mistake, error.^[2]
6. A moral lapse.^[2]
7. (Medieval Latin) Heresy.^[8]

Related words

• errō
• errātum
• English error
• English err

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com