English
err
Err comes from Old French errer ‘to wander, err, mistake’, and goes back to Latin errō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō‘wander, stray, err, mistake’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400errer‘to wander, err, mistake’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500erren
- Englishearliest quotation 1910err
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō‘wander, stray, err, mistake’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400errer‘to wander, err, mistake’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500erren
- Englishearliest quotation 1910err
Earliest quotation: 1910, James P. Porter: “Artificial tests, then, can hardly err on the side…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to be angry, lose one's temper’
through Latin errō ‘wander, stray, err, mistake’
error, erroneous, erratic, errata, 6 more
through Old French errer ‘to wander, err, mistake’
Today it means
verb To make a mistake.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin errō / err