Where does “lapse” come from?
Lapse comes from Middle French laps, from Latin lapsus, the past participle of labi meaning to slip or fall, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leb-.
lapse (English): A temporary failure; a slip; A decline or fall in...
Definitions
- A temporary failure; a slip; A decline or fall in...
Ancestry of “lapse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | laps | — |
| 2 | Latin | lāpsus | gliding, sliding, slipping, falling |
| 3 | Latin | lābor | work |
| 4 | Old Latin | labos | — |
| 5 | Romanian | labă | palm; paw |
| 6 | Hungarian | láb | leg; foot; support, stand |
| 7 | Proto-Uralic | luwe | bone |
| 8 | Proto-Iranian | *Hrawpācáh | fox |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | *Hrawpāćás | fox |