Etymologically
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lapsus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫaːp.sʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlap.sus][1]

Forms

lāpsus m (genitive lāpsūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lābor (“to slip, fall”) + -tus, an action noun.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is Afranius, of slipping and falling, and Köbler's earliest source is Cicero.[2][3] Köbler dates Afranius to the second half of the 2nd century BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant slipping and falling, a fall; any smooth or gliding motion, as of stars and rivers; a fall from favour or rank; and in Cicero a falling into error, a failing, lapse.[2][4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means falling, moral lapse, apostasy, and the passage of time.[5] Medieval Latin used it for a fish trap, a slide and the slipping by of time.[6] English lapse (mid-15th century) is from it through Old French, and German Lapsus “slip, error” is from it.[7][3]

Timeline

  • 2nd half of the 2nd century BC – Afranius uses it.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a fall from favour and of error.[2][3]
  • mid-15th century – English lapse is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A slipping, fall.[2][8]
  2. A gliding motion, flow.[2][4]
  3. A fall from favour.[2]
  4. A lapse, error, failing.[2][5]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Apostasy.[5]

Usage notes

Niermeyer also records a second-declension noun lapsus, a lapsed Christian or heretic.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press