defect

Definition

A fault or malfunction.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin defectus (“a failure, lack”), from deficere (“to fail, lack, literally 'undo'”), from past participle defectus, from de- (“of, from”) + facere (“to do”).

Example Sentences

• "a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment"
• "Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects."
• "But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low."

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