errorn.
/ˈɛrə/, U.S. /ˈɛrər/ I. Senses relating to wandering physically.
1. The action of roaming or wandering; hence a devious or winding course, a roving, winding. Now only poetic.The primary sense in Latin; in French and English it occurs only as a conscious imitation of Latin usage.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering
wandering1362
roamingc1390
roving?1520
error1594
rangling1594
wanderment1597
rambling1622
rolling1624
vagancy1641
roverya1653
pervagation1656
oberration1658
vagrancya1677
stravaiging1825
scamander1873
outwandering1880
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > [noun] > indirectness of course > moving in winding course > instance of or a winding course
windinga1387
anfractus?a1425
ambage1537
crank1572
error1594
indenture1598
maze1598
meander1631
circumvolution1633
anfracture1657
1594 S. Daniel Complaint Rosamond in Wks. (1717) 50 Intricate innumerable Ways, With such confused Errors.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xvi. 146 Being by error lost, they [sc. dogs] haue refused meat.
a1637 B. Jonson Timber 2778 in Wks. (1640) III His error by Sea, the Sacke of Troy, are put not as the Argument of the worke.
1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. 318 But Archagathus was taken by them, who had lost his Father in the error of the night.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 239 The crisped Brooks, Rowling..With mazie error under pendant shades. View more context for this quotation
1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. iv. ⁋13. 30 [The moon] has a kind of certainty even in her planetary errors.
1720 J. Gay Rural Sports i, in Poems I. 14 If an enormous salmon chance to spy The wanton errors of the floating fly.
1743 R. Blair Grave 8 Where the..Stream has slid along In grateful Errors thro' the Under-wood.
1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 75 The damsel's headlong error thro' the wood.
II. Senses relating to wandering mentally.† 2. Chagrin, fury, vexation; a wandering of the feelings; extravagance of passion. Obsolete.[A common use in Old French; cf. irour n., < Old French irour anger, which may have been confused with this word.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [noun]
irrec825
gramec1000
brathc1175
wrathc1175
mooda1225
ortha1225
felonyc1290
irea1300
greme13..
thro1303
wrathhead1303
errorc1320
angera1325
gremth1340
iroura1380
brethc1380
couragec1386
heavinessc1386
felona1400
follya1400
wrathnessc1440
choler1530
blast1535
malice1538
excandescency1604
stomachosity1656
bad blood1664
corruption1799
needle1874
irateness1961
c1320 Sir Beues 1907 Tho was Beues in strong erur.
c1325 Coer de L. 5937 Kyng Richard pokyd [? þo kyd] gret errour, Wrathe dede hym chaung colour.
1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1081 The lord wyth greet errour Rod hom to hys tour.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 318 A-boute his herte com so grete errour that it wete all his visage with teeres of his yien.
III. The action or state of erring.
3. † c. A delusion, trick. Obsolete. rare.
a. The condition of erring in opinion; the holding of mistaken notions or beliefs; an instance of this, a mistaken notion or belief; false beliefs collectively. Phrases, to be, stand in, lead into error; †without error = ‘doubtless’.
ΘΚΠ
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
the mind > mental capacity > belief > school of thought > [noun] > erroneous belief > holding of
error1340
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > error in belief or opinion > [noun] > instance of
error1340
misbeliefa1387
misopinion1489
delusion1552
fallacy1590
delirium1599
pseudodox1601
ignotion1647
by-opinion1670
night-philosophy1677
sphalm1715
pseudo-idea1863
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 4277 Þus sal þai bring þe folk in errour Thurgh þair prechyng.
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 9 Astronomyenes..þeyre errowre es reproffede of haly doctours.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16900 Þan sal rise mar þan be-forn errur of vr fai.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xxxiv. (Roxb.) 155 To mayntene þam in þaire mawmetry and þaire errour.
a1425 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Galba) l. 25225 All men þat in errure iss For to be broght vnto þi blis.
1450 Myrc 63 Forsakest [thou] alle heresies and arrours.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 112 The kyng Serath confessid thenne openly that without errour Appollo was a god.
c1500 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 44 And if sche wot nat whoo it is, bute stonde in erore.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxvii We are brought out of darkenes and error.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 78 In religion What damned error but some sober brow will blesse it. View more context for this quotation
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. iii. 8 For Error, to speake strictly, is a firme assent unto falsity.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 33 The general notion, that springs are colder in summer and warmer in winter, is but a vulgar error.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xv. 340 The paths of error are various and infinite.
1830 R. Knox tr. P. A. Béclard Elements Gen. Anat. 194 This circumstance has led those into error.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. iv. 249 Let us here avoid an error which may readily arise out [of] the foregoing reflections.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 136 Actions done in error are often thought to be involuntary injustice.
b. personified.
ΚΠ
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A5v God helpe the man so wrapt in Errours endlesse traine.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) v. iii. 68 O Error soone conceyu'd, Thou..kil'st the Mother that engendred thee. View more context for this quotation
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 6 Though error bee blinde, shee sometimes bringeth forth seeing Daughters.
1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) lxxx. xv And Error in ten thousand Shapes Would every gracious Soul beguile.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception
wrenchc888
swikec893
braida1000
craftOE
wile1154
crookc1175
trokingc1175
guile?c1225
hocket1276
blink1303
errorc1320
guileryc1330
sleightc1340
knackc1369
deceitc1380
japec1380
gaudc1386
syllogism1387
mazec1390
mowa1393
train?a1400
trantc1400
abusionc1405
creekc1405
trickc1412
trayc1430
lirtc1440
quaint?a1450
touch1481
pawka1522
false point?1528
practice1533
crink1534
flim-flamc1538
bobc1540
fetcha1547
abuse1551
block1553
wrinklec1555
far-fetch?a1562
blirre1570
slampant1577
ruse1581
forgery1582
crank1588
plait1589
crossbite1591
cozenage1592
lock1598
quiblin1605
foist1607
junt1608
firk1611
overreach?1615
fob1622
ludification1623
knick-knacka1625
flam1632
dodge1638
gimcrack1639
fourbe1654
juggle1664
strategy1672
jilt1683
disingenuity1691
fun1699
jugglementa1708
spring1753
shavie1767
rig?1775
deception1794
Yorkshire bite1795
fakement1811
fake1829
practical1833
deceptivity1843
tread-behind1844
fly1861
schlenter1864
Sinonism1864
racket1869
have1885
ficelle1890
wheeze1903
fast one1912
roughie1914
spun-yarn trick1916
fastie1931
phoney baloney1933
fake-out1955
okey-doke1964
mind-fuck1971
c1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2353 So longe thai vsed this errour Thai were richcher than th' emperour.
4. † b. A mistake in the making of a thing; a miscarriage, mishap; a flaw, malformation. nature's error = lusus naturae n. Obsolete.
a. Something incorrectly done through ignorance or inadvertence; a mistake, e.g. in calculation, judgement, speech, writing, action, etc. Phrase, to commit an error. clerical error (see clerical adj. and n.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > an error, mistake > [noun]
misnimming?c1225
errora1340
defaulta1387
balkc1430
fault1523
jeofail1546
errat1548
trip1548
naught1557
missa1568
missinga1568
slide1570
snappera1572
amiss1576
mistaking1579
misprize1590
mistake1600
berry-block1603
solecism1603
fallibility1608
stumblea1612
blota1657
slur1662
incorrectnessa1771
bumble1823
skew1869
(to make) a false step1875
slip-up1909
ricket1958
bad1981
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter Comm. 45 Errour in hit is ther non.
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. v. xii. 286 Huchowne bath and þe autore Gyltles ar of gret errore.
1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton 3 I..byseche all suche that fynde faute or errour that of theyr charyte they correcte and amende hit.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 78 I wyl confesse thys to be a grete errore in our commyn wele.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 241 This is the greatest errour of all the rest; the man should be put into the lanthorne.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. iv. 15 For the errours of Definitions multiply themselves.
1710 H. Bedford Vindic. Church of Eng. 182 With all the Errors of the Press corrected in it with a Pen.
1781 W. Cowper Friendship iv Boys care but little whom they trust, An errour soon corrected.
1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. ii. vii. 323 The first solution of the problem of the Precession..given by Newton..is not free from error.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 125 He could hardly fail to perceive that he had committed a great error.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [noun] > an imperfection > defect or fault or flaw > other
fault1377
error1398
scar1583
flawc1616
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) v. i. 101 This wonderfull errour [abortion] happyth moost in shepe and geete.
1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1483) iv. xxx. 78 Hit behoueth..that it [a statue] be fourged right withoute ony errour.
a1700 J. Dryden tr. G. Boccaccio Cymon & Iphigenia in Wks. (1882–92) XI. 488 He looked like nature's error, as the mind And body were not of a piece designed.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1737 I. 53 Sure, thou art an errour of nature.
c. Law. A mistake in matter of law appearing on the proceedings of a court of record. writ of error: a writ brought to procure the reversal of a judgement, on the ground of error. By the Judicature Act of 1875 writs of error are limited to criminal cases; in civil cases appeal is substituted. plaintiff, defendant in error: the parties for or against whom the writ of error is used. court of error (U.S.), a court of appeal in cases of error. †clerk of the errors (see quot. 1706).
ΚΠ
1495 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 59 §2 The seid utlagaries..were reversed by meane of errour aftir the due order of your lawes.
1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 142 Errour is a fault in a judgement, or in the processe, or proceeding to judgment, or in the execution upon the same in a Court of Record.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 83 Lawyers..Do stave and tail with Writs of Error.
1699 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) IV. 505 The place of clerk of the errors, worth £400 per annum.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Clerk of the Errours, an Officer of the Common-Pleas, whose Business it is to Copy out and Certifie the Tenour of the Records of a Cause or Action, upon which the Writ of Errour is brought into any of those Courts.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals Prol. i. 31 No writ of error lies—to Drury Lane!
1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1121 If the defendant avow for so much rent arrear, part whereof is not due at the time of the distress, and enters judgment for the whole, it will be error.
1821 J. Marshall Writings upon Federal Constit. (1839) 239 The counsel for the defendant in error.
1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. xii. 285 During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, writs of error from inferior courts to the house of lords became far less usual.
d. Mathematics. The quantity by which a result obtained by observation or by approximate calculation differs from an accurate determination. error of a planet: the difference between its observed place and that indicated by calculation. error of a clock: the difference between the time which it indicates and that which it ought to indicate. law of error, random error (see quots.). probable error, standard error (see under the first element).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > result of > error in
error1715
riska1832
cumulative error1887
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. i. §61. 123 All the errors of the Body L, arise from the Forces represented by the Right lines AM, MN.
1833 J. F. W. Herschel Astronomy iii. 136 By applying its [clock's] error and rate..he can correct its indications.
1838 A. De Morgan Ess. Probabilities 135 The number of positive and negative errors will in the long run be equal.
1875 F. Galton in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 49 37 The law of frequency of error says that ‘magnitudes differing from the mean value by such and such multiples of the probable error, will occur with such and such degrees of frequency’.
1876 Catal. Special Loan Coll. Sci. Apparatus S. Kensington Mus. §48 Testing how far the relative numbers in the several classes accord with the results of the Law of Error or Dispersion.
1878 B. Stewart & P. G. Tait Unseen Universe iii. 123 The same law as that of the Probability of error.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IX. 754/2 In mathematics, ‘error’ is the deviation of the observed or calculated quantity from its true value. The calculus of errors leads to the formulation of the ‘law of error’, which is an analytical expression of the most probably true value of a series of discordant values.
1936 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 40 77 The distribution of the components of the velocity fluctuation at any given point appears to follow the ‘random error law’.
1951 M. Jahoda et al. Res. Methods Social Rel. I. iv. 100 Random error is due to those transient aspects of the person, of the situation of measurement, of the measurement procedure, etc., which are likely to vary by chance from one measurement to the next.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 220/1 The component of molecular velocity along any chosen direction is distributed according to the so-called ‘error law’, i.e. the number of molecules whose component velocity u lies between narrow limits u and u + du is proportional to e−Au2du.
5. A departure from moral rectitude; a transgression, wrongdoing.In modern use conveying the notion either of something not wholly voluntary, and so excusable, or of something imprudent as well as blameable. Cf. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > wrongful deed > [noun]
misdeedeOE
guilt971
evilOE
follya1275
trespassc1290
errorc1330
illa1340
untetchea1375
offencec1384
crimec1390
forfeit1393
faultc1400
demerit1485
disorder1581
misfeasancea1626
misactiona1667
trespassage1874
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > [noun] > going astray > instance of
errorc1330
mistreading1598
warping1608
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 78 William the Conquerour changis his wikked wille, Out of his first errour.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 21 Where lawe lacketh errour groweth.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 6 That they shuld escheue al errours & applye them to all good dedis.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Wisd. i. 12 O seke not youre owne death in ye erroure of youre life.
1611 Bible (King James) Heb. ix. 7 Blood, which he offered for himselfe, and for the errors of the people. View more context for this quotation
1713 Berkeley in Guardian No. 8 Allusions to the errors of a very wild life.
1792 E. Burke Corr. (1844) III. 407 It is an error, not of the head, but of the heart.
1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 261 Capital vices? Say, rather, fashionable errors.
1851 C. Kingsley Lett. (1878) I. 252 Every error must in God's universe, bring down on itself..some cognate misery.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
error-blasted adj.
ΚΠ
1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 16 A..minde..Error-blasted from Heaven and Hell.
error-darkened adj.
ΚΠ
1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 558 The obscurity of ambiguities is most proper and least offensive to his errour-darkned eyes.
error-free adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > [adjective]
wiseOE
deada1592
sure-footed1633
inerring1661
unerring1679
safe1788
errorless1856
inerroneous1880
error-free1927
1927 J. Adams Errors in School 38 Error-free material.
1964 C. Dent Quantity Surv. by Computer iii. 32 Checking devices to ensure error-free tapes.
error-proof adj.
ΚΠ
1646 J. Shirley To T. Stanley in Poems i. 31 Let me deal plainly with your youth, Not error-proof yet.
error-stricken adj.
ΚΠ
1871 E. F. Burr Ad Fidem iv. 63 Bring truth home, to error-stricken souls.
error-tainted adj.
ΚΠ
1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 239 The poison of heresy and error-tainted opinions.
error-teaching adj.
ΚΠ
1853 G. S. Faber Recapit. Apostasy 72 Giving heed to error-teaching spirits and to doctrines concerning demons.
b.
error-analysis n.
ΚΠ
1963 P. Strevens Papers in Lang. (1965) i. 8 The study of error-analysis.
1968 L. Fox & D. F. Mayers Computing Methods for Scientists & Engineers v. 119 Wilkinson (1963) also gives more details in a reasonably elementary way, of the error analysis for matrix problems.
error-holder n.
ΚΠ
1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. To Rdr. sig. ¶.vii They are..condemned for ignoraunt men, and errour holders.
c.
error-correcting adj.
ΚΠ
1962 Gloss. Terms Automatic Data Processing (B.S.I.) 22 Error correcting code, an error detecting code which uses additional code elements so that for certain errors the mutilated representation resembles more closely the original than any other valid representation.
1965 Math. in Biol. & Med. (Med. Res. Council) iii. 124 The similarity to, and the difference from, either the ‘substantialization’ of sign-sequences or error-correcting codes may be noted.
error-correction n.
ΚΠ
1964 T. W. McRae Impact Computers on Accounting vi. 164 These error-correction procedures are very complicated indeed.
error-detecting adj.
ΚΠ
1927 J. Adams Errors in School 236 Applying the parallel to error-detecting.
1962 Gloss. Terms Automatic Data Processing (B.S.I.) 22 Error detecting code, a code in which each representation of a character conforms to specific rules of construction, so that for certain errors the mutilated representation corresponds to no valid character.
error-detection n.
ΚΠ
1927 J. Adams Errors in School 248 Responsibility of error-detection.
C2.
error box n. Astronomy a quadrilateral area of sky whose dimensions correspond to the uncertainty of a measured position inside it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sky, heavens > [noun] > region, zone > error box or circle
error box1968
error circle1968
1968 Space Sci. Rev. 8 536 The source error box is defined only by the errors in the more accurately known radial (frequency) determinations.
1974 Nature 20 Dec. 661/1 We call attention here to the existence of a rich Abell cluster of galaxies in the error box of the Uhuru high galactic latitude source 3U1706 + 32.
1978 Sci. News 5 Aug. 88 X-ray observing equipment characteristically locates a source within a certain ‘error box’ that may contain several candidates for visual identification, and the task is to make the error box smaller or pick the likeliest candidate.
Draft additions 1993
Philately. A postage stamp which contains a misprint or other irregularity (e.g. incorrect colour or paper), esp. one which has been inadvertently put into circulation.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > postal services > payment for postage > [noun] > postage stamp > types of
black1863
penny black1863
local1865
error1866
toadskin1867
fiscal1869
imperforate1874
tête-bêche1874
halfpenny1881
provisional1885
British colonial1902
precancel1903
definitive1929
airmail1930
pictorial1934
perfin1945
1866 Philatelist 1 Dec. 12/2 The 4 p. error has the watermark usually placed diagonally on the paper.
1927 Stanley Gibbons Monthly Jrnl. Sept. 282/1 Errors and varieties exist in abundance in all issues.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 715 b/1 [The collection of] the late Col. E.H.R. Green..was especially rich in unusual materials, such as..a number of sheets of the imperforate 5-cent carmine error.
1971 D. Potter Brit. Elizabethan Stamps xiv. 159 Collectors tend to use the words variety and error indiscriminately.
1987 Stamps Feb. 20/2 B. Alan Ltd have acquired two hitherto unrecorded major Commonwealth errors.
Draft additions 1993
error bar n. a line drawn parallel to one of the axes of a graph to represent the uncertainty of one of the co-ordinates of the point through which it passes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > graph > other
hockey stick1843
curve fitting1895
demand curve1936
zero crossing1941
matching1955
length1959
error bar1968
1968 Brit. Med. Bull. 24 247/1 Graphs such as those in fig. 4 can be drawn out automatically, complete with error bars, by means of a digital plotter.
1990 Metals & Materials July 438/1 Data can appear accurate and reliable until plotted with confidence limits or error bars.
Draft additions 1993
error circle n. Astronomy a circular area of sky with the same significance as an error box.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sky, heavens > [noun] > region, zone > error box or circle
error box1968
error circle1968
1968 Astrophysical Jrnl. 152 i. 1011 (caption) Each error circle incloses a region wherein the sources should lie with a confidence of approximately 90 per cent.
1978 Nature 5 Jan. 35/1 The new QSO has been found within a 40″ error circle established by the SAS-3 X-ray Observatory.
Draft additions June 2017
Tennis. A shot which does not land within (the designated playing area of) the opponent's court, causing the player who made the shot to lose a point. Also (without article): the action of making such a shot. Cf. fault n. 5c.See also unforced error n. at unforced adj. Additions, forced error n. at forced adj. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > [noun] > types of play or stroke
fault1599
back-hand1657
serving1688
let1819
return1832
ace1840
error1877
rally1879
knock-up1884
drop1900
kill1903
soft kill1910
angle shot1911
retrieve1913
length1924
put-away1932
1877 Manch. Weekly Times 29 Dec. Suppl. 414/3 If hand-in commits the error, he becomes hand-out, and the adversary takes his place and scores from his end.
1891 Chicago Daily Herald 15 July 3/5 A brilliant stroke followed hard upon splendid service... There were few faults and few errors.
1941 H. H. Jacobs Tennis ii. 30 Neither one could hope for an error from the other, and..the spectator could have counted the errors on the fingers of one hand.
1981 Financial Times 15 June 11/7 Gottfried..was able to get himself back into the match..by again forcing McEnroe into error on the volley.
2007 R. Antoun Women's Tennis Tactics iii. 108 When there is doubt as to whether an error is forced or unforced, the player who made the error should judge.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
errorv.
/ˈɛrə/, U.S. /ˈɛrər/ Law.
transitive. To determine or decide to be erroneous (a decision of a court).
ΚΠ
1828 in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. ; and in mod. Dicts.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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