err
UK /ɜː/ · US /ɛɚ/ verb, interjection
- verb (intransitive, formal) To make a mistake. “He erred in his calculations, and made many mistakes.”
- verb (intransitive) To sin. “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
- verb (archaic) to stray.
- interjection Elongated form of er (“sound of hesitation”). “Err... what did you just say?”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English erren, from Old French errer (“to wander, err, mistake”), from Latin errō (“wander, stray, err, mistake”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- (“to be angry, lose one's temper”). Cognate with Old English eorre, ierre (“anger, wrath, ire”), Old English iersian (“to be angry with, rage, irritate, provoke”), Old English ierre (“wandering, gone astray, confused”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To wander; to roam; to stray. [Archaic] "Why wilt thou err from me" Keble.
- verb To deviate from the true course; to miss the thing aimed at. "My jealous aim might err." Shak.
Etymology [F. errer, L. errare; akin to G. irren, OHG. irran, v. t., irr, v. i., OS. irrien, Sw. irra, Dan. irre, Goth, aírzjan to lead astray, airzise astray.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “err”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details