lapse (n.)
mid-15c., "elapsing of time, expiration;" also "temporary forfeiture of a legal right" due to some failure or non-action by the holder, from Old French laps "lapse," from Latin lapsus "a slipping and falling, a landslide; flight (of time); falling into error," from labi "to glide, slip, slide, sink, fall; decline, go to ruin," which is of unknown etymology.
Meaning "moral transgression, sin" is from c. 1500; that of "slip of the memory" is 1520s; that of "a falling away from one's faith" is from 1650s.
lapse (v.)
early 15c., to go by, pass (of time), from lapse (n.) and from Latin lapsare "to lose one's footing, slip, slide," from stem of labi "to slip, glide, fall." Meaning "fail in duty or faith" is from 1630s. Meaning "become void, revert due to some failure or non-action by the holder" is from 1726. Related: Lapsed; lapses; lapsing.
Entries linking to lapse
1732, "fall together, fall into an irregular mass through loss of support or rigidity," from Latin collapsus, past participle of collabi "fall together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + labi "to fall, slip" (see lapse (n.)).
Figurative sense of "come to nothing, fail" is from 1801. Transitive sense "cause to collapse" is from 1883. The adjective collapsed is attested from c. 1600, originally of groups of persons, "fallen from a spiritual or religious state," perhaps from co- + lapsed. Related: Collapsing.
Trends of lapse
updated on December 09, 2020
