fail English · revision 4226

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la fallere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /feɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|failen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[bor|fro|faillir|t=to be lacking, miss, not succeed; to run out; to err; to let down]], falir,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*fallīre]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) an alteration of Latin [[m|la|fallere|t=to trip, cause to fall; to deceive, cheat; to be lacking or defective]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) De Vaan traces fallere to a root meaning “to stumble”, compare Sanskrit skhalate “stumbles, fails” and Greek sphállein “to throw down”, so that “deceive” would be a metaphor from “stumble”.^(Etymonline) It replaced Old English ābrēoþan.^(Etymonline) The noun, as in without fail, is from Old French faille.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[false]], [[fault]] and [[failure]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To be unsuccessful; to cease to exist or function, come to an end”: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To fail in expectation or performance” is from the early 13th century.^(Etymonline) Of supplies of food or goods, “to run short”, it is from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) and of crops and of strength or courage, “to grow feeble”, from about 1300.^(Etymonline) Of material objects, “to break down”, it is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The noun, ''without fail'', is from about 1275,^(Barnhart 1988) 1297 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The academic fail, a grade below the pass mark, is from 1944.^(OED 1989) ''Failure'' is from 1660, replacing failer (1643), an Anglicized law-French word.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scotland, a fail was also a sod of turf, of unknown origin.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – to be unsuccessful.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * early 13th century – to disappoint.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1275 – ''without fail''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – of crops, strength.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – to break down.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660 – ''failure''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1944 – an examination fail.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be unsuccessful: ''the plan failed''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To receive a grade below the pass mark, or to give one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To fall short; to prove insufficient or give out.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To stop working: ''the brakes failed''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To weaken or decline: ''her health is failing''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To go bankrupt.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To disappoint or let down: ''my courage failed me''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To omit or neglect: ''failed to notice''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Failure, now only in ''without fail''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An unsuccessful result in an examination.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[failingly]]

+ * [[fail-safe]]

+ * [[failure]]

+ * [[pass-fail]]

+ * [[fail-soft]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[default]]

+ * [[fallacy]]

+ * [[false]]

+ * [[fault]]

+ * [[fallible]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}