Deficiency
/dɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/noun
A lack or shortage of something needed or expected.
Did you know?Deficiency ultimately comes from Latin *deficere*, meaning “to fail” or “to desert,” so the word originally carried the eerie sense of something that has fallen away or broken under pressure.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
deficere
“to fail, desert, fall short”
Late Latin
Latin
deficientia
“a falling short, lack, insufficiency”
Old French
Old French
deficience
“deficiency, lack”
14th-15th Century
Middle English
deficiencie
“a lack or shortage”
Modern English
English
deficiency
“a lack or shortage of something needed or expected”