Question

defalcation noun "The tea table shall be set forth every morning with its customary bill of fare, and without any manner of defalcation." No reference to embezzlement there! This line, from a 1712 issue of Spectator magazine, is an example of the earliest, and now archaic, sense of "defalcation," which is simply defined as "curtailment." "Defalcation" is ultimately from the Latin word "falx," meaning "sickle" (a tool for cutting), and it has been a part of English since the 1400s. It was used early on of monetary cutbacks (as in "a defalcation in their wages"), and by the 1600s it was used of most any sort of financial reversal (as in "a defalcation of public revenues"). Not till the mid-1800s, however, did "defalcation" refer to breaches of trust that cause a financial loss, or, specifically, to embezzlement. 1 : the act or an instance of embezzling2 : a failure to meet a promise or an expectation

Accepted Answer

May 23, 2010 dee-fal-KAY-shun "'She made off with the money, an act of defalcation that disqualifies her from receiving a bankruptcy discharge,' the judge ruled." (Orlando Sentinel, March 21, 2004)

Word	defalcation
Date	May 23, 2010
Type	noun
Syllables	dee-fal-KAY-shun
Etymology	"The tea table shall be set forth every morning with its customary bill of fare, and without any manner of defalcation." No reference to embezzlement there! This line, from a 1712 issue of Spectator magazine, is an example of the earliest, and now archaic, sense of "defalcation," which is simply defined as "curtailment." "Defalcation" is ultimately from the Latin word "falx," meaning "sickle" (a tool for cutting), and it has been a part of English since the 1400s. It was used early on of monetary cutbacks (as in "a defalcation in their wages"), and by the 1600s it was used of most any sort of financial reversal (as in "a defalcation of public revenues"). Not till the mid-1800s, however, did "defalcation" refer to breaches of trust that cause a financial loss, or, specifically, to embezzlement.
Examples	"'She made off with the money, an act of defalcation that disqualifies her from receiving a bankruptcy discharge,' the judge ruled." (Orlando Sentinel, March 21, 2004)
Definition	1 : the act or an instance of embezzling 2 : a failure to meet a promise or an expectation

Defalcation Financial Act Noun Dee Fal Kay Shun Tea Table Set