Lapse
/læps/noun
A temporary failure or slip; also, a passing away or gradual decline.
Did you know?Lapse comes from Latin *lapsus*, meaning “a slip” or “fall,” from the same root that gave English words tied to gliding and sliding, so the idea of a “slip” is built into its oldest form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leip-
“to stick, adhere; in related branches, to glide or slip”
Latin
Latin
labi
“to slip, slide, or fall”
Latin
Latin
lapsus
“a slipping, falling, or error”
Late Latin
Latin
lapsem
“a slip or fall”
Middle English
English
laps
“a slip, failure, or passing away”
Modern English
English
lapse
“a temporary failure, a passing of time, or a gradual decline”