† errn.
Obsolete.
An error, fault; also, erroneous belief, heresy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > school of thought > [noun] > erroneous belief
misbeliefa1387
err1509
errancy1623
sphalm1715
miscreed1819
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > [noun]
misthoughtc1300
error1340
vanityc1386
err1509
delirium1599
unsoundnessa1600
misknowing1616
errancy1623
pseudodoxy1651
apophenia1999
1509 Bp. J. Fisher Wks. i. 260 A londe without erre.
?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. Bivv They haue a great erre for they saye that the holy ghost cam not of the sone but alone of the fader.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
errv.
/əː/, U.S. /ər/, /ɛ(ə)r/ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > erring > [verb (intransitive)]
misfareeOE
failc1290
stumblec1325
errc1374
crookc1380
miscarryc1390
swervea1400
delire?a1475
pervertc1475
misguide1480
prevaricate1582
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander
wharvec890
woreOE
wandera1000
rengec1230
wagc1325
roamc1330
errc1374
raikc1390
ravec1390
rumblec1400
rollc1405
railc1425
roit1440
waverc1440
rangea1450
rove1481
to-waver1487
vaguea1525
evague1533
rangle1567
to go a-strayinga1586
vagary1598
divagate1599
obambulate1614
vagitate1614
ramble1615
divage1623
pererrate1623
squander1630
peramble1632
rink1710
ratch1801
browse1803
vagrate1807
bum1857
piroot1858
scamander1864
truck1864
bat1867
vagrant1886
float1901
vagulate1918
pissant1945
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 274 O wery ghost, that errest to and fro.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxxvii. 15 A man fonde hym in the feelde errynge.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. xv. 169 He erred so ferre by strange londes that he passed the flood of Ganges.
1549–62 T. Sternhold & J. Hopkins Whole Bk. Psalms cvii. 40 And like~wise caused them to erre Within the wildernesse.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster i. iii. sig. B4v In no Labyrinth, can I safelier erre, Then when I loose my selfe in praysing her. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 344 A Storm of Strokes..errs about their Temples, Ears, and Eyes.
2.
a. To go astray; to stray from (one's path or line of direction). Chiefly figurative and now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > be mistaken, err [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
haltc900
marOE
slidea1000
misfangOE
missOE
to have wough?c1225
misnimc1225
misrekec1275
mis-startc1275
err1303
to go wrongc1340
misgo1340
slipc1340
snapperc1380
forvay1390
to miss of ——c1395
to make a balkc1430
to run in ——1496
trip1509
fault1530
mistake1548
misreckon1584
misstep1605
warpa1616
solecize1627
hallucinate1652
nod1677
to go will1724
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)a1849
slip1890
skid1920
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > turn aside from a course of action
wanderc897
haltc900
flitc1175
misdrawc1300
err1303
convertc1374
foldc1380
stray1390
astray1393
swaver?a1400
to fall from ——a1425
recedec1450
depart1535
swervea1547
fag1555
flinch1578
exorbitate1600
extravagate1600
discoasta1677
tralineate1700
aberrate1749
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > stray or go astray
dwelec900
miswendOE
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)c1175
to step astray, awry, beside1297
weyec1315
outrayc1330
strayc1330
waivea1375
forvay1390
outwandera1400
stragglea1425
waverc1485
wander?1507
swerve1543
wift?a1560
random1561
estray1572
egar1584
to go a-strayinga1586
to step aside1787
err1819
moider1839
maverick1910
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 9517 Lewede men Þat erre ful moche oute of the weye.
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 17 Whoso myghte by þe grace of Godd go þis way he sulde noghte erre.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. liii. 6 Alle wee as shep erreden.
c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Add. MS.) 330 Vayn, waveryng, and erryng fro the faithe.
1552 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16279) Morninge Prayer sig. .ii We haue erred and strayed from thy wayes, lyke loste shepe.
1678 R. Barclay Apol. True Christian Divinity 15 He that Errs in the Entrance, is not so easily reduced again into the Right Way.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II xciv. 166 Probably it [a bird] might have err'd Upon its course.
1832 J. C. Hare in Philol. Museum 1 645 Indeed in this, as in every other practical question, there are two extremes, into which one may err.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxi. 100 Nothing is that errs from law. View more context for this quotation
b. To fail, miss; also, to err from (a mark or proposed end): to miss, fail to strike. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)]
withsitc1330
fail1340
defaulta1382
errc1430
to fall (also go) by the wayside1526
misthrive1567
miss1599
to come bad, or no, speedc1600
shrink1608
abortivea1670
maroon1717
to flash in the pan1792
skunk1831
to go to the dickens1833
to miss fire1838
to fall flat1841
fizzle1847
to lose out1858
to fall down1873
to crap out1891
flivver1912
flop1919
skid1920
to lay an egg1929
to blow out1939
to strike out1946
bomb1963
to come (also have) a buster1968
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail in [verb (transitive)] > fail to achieve
to miss of ——c1225
fault1522
to err froma1538
to miss on ——a1627
miss1644
to miss out1929
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike or deliver blows [verb (intransitive)] > fail to strike
misyengec1275
miss1535
fail1590
to lose aim1611
to fall shorta1688
err1801
c1430 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1554) ii. xxiii. 60 a Kynd in her forge list nothing to erre.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 13 Erryth not from the end.
1712 A. Pope tr. Statius First Bk. Thebais in Misc. Poems 51 On me, on me, let all thy Fury fall, Nor err from me, since I deserve it all.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 144 But errs not Nature from this gracious end, From burning suns when livid deaths descend.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. i. 54 The Arrows..err not from their aim.
c. ? quasi-transitive. (But perhaps way is the object of leading: ‘I shall not err if thou lead the way’.)
ΚΠ
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 266 I shall not lag behinde, nor erre The way, thou leading. View more context for this quotation
3. † b. quasi-transitive with cognate object.
a. To go wrong in judgement or opinion: to make mistakes, blunder. Of a formula, statement, etc.: To be incorrect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > believe or opine wrongly [verb (intransitive)]
dwelec900
err1303
misbelievea1400
misdeema1400
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 473 Ȝif þou telle hem [sc. dremys] þan mayst þou errre.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 342 Petre suffride mekeli at Poul snybbide him whanne he erride.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 9v Whan thy frende erreth or mystaketh him ayenst the.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. vi. f. 16v Quhasaeuir doutis or erris in ye faith.
1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso vii. l. 53 By dreames, by oracles, that neuer arrs.
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Living §2 243 Possibly the Man may erre in his judgement of circumstances.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 662 Fancy..Perhaps errs little, when she paints thee thus.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 467 Both the above formulæ err in this particular.
1856 B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. (ed. 3) I. ii. 42 It seems to me that the best writers..have erred in considering the mind too abstractedly.
ΚΠ
1656 Disc. Auxiliary Beauty 173 Those that are so subject to erre customary errors in greater matters.
1659 J. Gauden Ἱερα Δακρυα 281 In this it seems to have erred a Catholick errour.
1659 J. Gauden Ἱερα Δακρυα 285 Not once erring so Catholick and great an errour.
1673 H. Hickman Hist. Quinq-articularis 487 They err as bad an error as the Pelagians do.
4. † b. transitive (nonce-use.) To make (a person) sin.
a. To go astray morally; to sin.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > act wrongly or immorally [verb (intransitive)] > err or go wrong or astray
misfareeOE
wanderc897
dwelec900
miswendOE
misfereOE
misnimc1225
failc1290
to go willa1300
misgoc1300
misstepc1300
errc1315
strayc1325
folly1357
wryc1369
crookc1380
miscarryc1390
ravec1390
astray1393
forloinc1400
delire?a1475
to go wrong?1507
to tread the shoe awrya1542
swerve1576
prevaricate1582
tread awrya1625
c1315 Shoreham 164 God wyste wel that man schold erry.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter x. 8 He suffirs wrecched men to erre in thoght & word & dede.
1482 Monk of Evesham 109 The perels of hem that offendyn and erryn.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 22 They erre greatly that hastely..say these holy houres.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 9 So Manasseh made Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem to erre . View more context for this quotation
a1687 E. Waller Upon Earl of Roscommon's Transl. Horace in Poems (1893) 215 The Muses' friend..With silent pity looks on all that err.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust I. Prol. 15 While Man's desires and aspirations stir, He cannot choose but err.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > erring > [verb (transitive)] > cause
slander1382
offend1526
err1632
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > cause to lapse or stumble
slander1382
offend1526
stray1561
err1632
scandal1632
lapse1664
1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) i. ii. i. ii. 50 The Lord of lies..tempts by couetousnesse, drunkennesse, pleasure, pride, &c. erres, deiects, saues, killes..some men.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > [verb (transitive)] > by committing an offence
overgoOE
aguiltOE
misguiltc1330
erra1340
offenda1387
trespass14..
commit1445
commisea1475
offence1512
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > do wrongfully or amiss [verb (transitive)]
aguiltOE
misdoOE
misworkc1300
sinc1315
usec1330
erra1340
trespass14..
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter 497 I will amend þat i hafe errid.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5733 For ilka thyng þat erred es..Man..sal be ledde To þe dome.
a1527 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt Divers Voy. (1582) sig. D2v In al this little carde I thinke nothing be erred touching the situation of the land.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 40 To redresse willingly and speedily what hath bin err'd.
Draft additions March 2016
to err on the side of —— (and variants): to exhibit a marked, possibly excessive tendency towards the specified quality, behaviour, etc.; to be conspicuously partial to; esp. (frequently in to err on the side of caution) to be overly cautious in one's judgement or conduct, esp. to avoid uncertainty or risk. Similarly (with specified adjective) to err on the —— side.
ΚΠ
1657 W. London Catal. Most Vendible Bks. Eng. Introd. sig. C4 If I doe err, sure it's on the better side, for that it's a Rule given in Politicks, rather to speak well, then ill, of things or persons.
1687 Marquis of Halifax Let. to Dissenter 4 I am so far from blaming you with that sharpness which, perhaps, the Matter in strictness would bear, that I am ready to err on the side of the more gentle construction.
1691 D. North Disc. Trade 20 So I allow 15 l. per Cent. for the loss by clipt money, which is with the most, and in such Computes, it is safest to err on that side.
1743 W. Guthrie tr. Cicero Orations III. 41 Tho' it is impossible for them to know who is a Thief or who is not, they still give the Alarm, whoever enters the Capitol by Night..; and Instinct itself directs them to err upon the Side of Caution.
1780 G. Semple Hibernia's Free Trade viii. 50 There was no sort of Necessity for piling this Foundation,..however, as it could not be so strong as on the South Side, where they were built on..the Rock, I thought it advisable..rather to err on the safe side.
1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice II. vi. 204 Always quickset; erring, if at all, ever on the side of brusquerie.
1887 W. Butt Ford's Theory & Pract. Archery (rev. ed.) viii. 98 Modern archers err on the side of not pulling up enough rather than on the side of over-drawing.
1974 S. Clapham Greenhouse Bk. vi. 42 With most cuttings..it is better to err on the dry rather than the wet side, as even if they flag a little from dryness, they will soon perk up again after a thorough watering.
1990 Health Educ. Jrnl. 49 203/2 Purists would object to the phrase ‘safe sex’,..today we err on the side of caution and refer to it as ‘safer sex’.
2003 K. Sampson Freshers 18 Lads who err on the side of heft wearing Brazil shirts.
2013 New Yorker 5 Aug. 16/2 Beef tartare with pickled elderberries and tiny fried sun-choke chips erred on the sweet side.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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