Etymologically
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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]

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