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Webster 1913 Edition


Error

Er′ror

,
Noun.
[OF.
error
,
errur
, F.
erreur
, L.
error
, fr.
errare
to err. See
Err
.]
1.
A wandering; a roving or irregular course.
[Obs.]
The rest of his journey, his
error
by sea.
B. Jonson.
2.
A wandering or deviation from the right course or standard; irregularity; mistake; inaccuracy; something made wrong or left wrong;
as, an
error
in writing or in printing; a clerical
error
.
3.
A departing or deviation from the truth; falsity; false notion; wrong opinion; mistake; misapprehension.
His judgment was often in
error
, though his candor remained unimpaired.
Bancroft.
4.
A moral offense; violation of duty; a sin or transgression; iniquity; fault.
Ps. xix. 12.
5.
(Math.)
The difference between the approximate result and the true result; – used particularly in the rule of double position.
6.
(Mensuration)
(a)
The difference between an observed value and the true value of a quantity.
(b)
The difference between the observed value of a quantity and that which is taken or computed to be the true value; – sometimes called
residual error
.
7.
(Law.)
A mistake in the proceedings of a court of record in matters of law or of fact.
8.
(Baseball)
A fault of a player of the side in the field which results in failure to put out a player on the other side, or gives him an unearned base.
Syn. – Mistake; fault; blunder; failure; fallacy; delusion; hallucination; sin. See
Blunder
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Error

ER'ROR

,
Noun.
[L. error, from erro, to wander.] A wandering or deviation from the truth; a mistake in judgment, by which men assent to or believe what is not true. Error may be voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary, when men neglect or pervert the proper means to inform the mind; involuntary, when the means of judging correctly are not in their power. An error committed through carelessness or haste is a blunder.
Charge home upon error its most tremendous consequences.
1.
A mistake made in writing or other performance. It is no easy task to correct the errors of the press. Authors sometimes charge their own errors to the printer.
2.
A wandering; excursion; irregular course.
Driv'n by the winds and errors of the sea.
[This sense is unusual and hardly legitimate.]
3.
Deviation from law, justice or right; oversight; mistake in conduct.
Say not, it was an error. Eccles.5.
4.
In scripture and theology, sin; iniquity; transgression.
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Ps.19.