Etymograph

English

lapsus oculi

Lapsus oculi comes from Latin lāpsus ‘slipping’, and goes back to lābor ‘to slip’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElābor‘to slip’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElāpsus‘slipping’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1828lapsus oculi

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElābor‘to slip’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElāpsus‘slipping’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1828lapsus oculi

Earliest quotation: 1828, Dialogue II. The Convex Lens.: “Oh, a mere lapsus oculi. The Doctor's optics were…”

The story

Unadapted borrowing from Latin lāpsus oculī (literally “slip of the eye”), from lāpsus (‘slipping; (figurative, rare) error’) + oculī (genitive of oculus (‘eye’)).

Linked words

through Latin lābor ‘to slip’

labour, laboratory, collaboration, elaborate, collapse, lava, relapse, laborious, labile, elapse, 8 more

through Latin lāpsus ‘slipping’

lapse, 3 more

Today it means

noun An error that results from looking in the wrong place, especially one that occurs while copying or translating a body of text.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin lābor / lapsus oculi

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