What is the Latin word for defect?

The usual Latin words for “defect” are vitium, ōs, superō; also redundō, mendōsus, ēmendō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“defect” in Latin

vitiumflaw, defect, blemish, imperfection; vice; crime, wrongdoing, misdeed, sin, error, fault ōsmouth; (in general) head or face; (in general) facial features, countenance, appearance superōto surmount, rise over, rise above, go over, ascend, overtop, mount; to go over, pass over, surpass, exceed, traverse; t redundōto overflow, abound, redound; to pour or spout forth or out; cause to pour out mendōsusfull of faults; faulty, erroneous, incorrect; false, deceptive ēmendōto free from faults, correct, improve, remedy, amend, revise, cure; to correct by punishment, chastise, atone or compens

The English word defect itself goes back to Latin faciō, through defectus.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

defect

vitium (κακία, any physical or moral imperfection, as a quality, not deserving of punishment, but of censure; also any natural defect to which no blame is attached; e.g., of the body, of the organ of speech, oris): quod deest (what is wanting; opposed to quod abundat atque affluit; or to excess, quod superest, superat or redundat): full of defects (= faults), mendosus: free from defects, ab omni vitio vacuus, vitio purus (free from physical and moral defects; of persons and things): emendatus (of writings): to be without defects, sine vitiis esse; vitiis carere or vacare (of persons and things): if there is no defect in anything, si nihil est in aliqua re vitii (Cic., ; e.g., in tecto, parietibus, Cic.): to perceive defects in anybody, in aliquo vitia videre: if anything is suffering from any defect, si deest alicui rei quippiam (Cic.). I have two defects which prevent me, etc., duae mihi res, quominus, etc., desunt (e.g., duas sibi res, quominus in vulgus et in foro diceret, defuisse, Cic.): to supply a defect, quod deest alicui, or alicui rei, explere (Cic., Brut. 42, 154): to supply the defects of anything, supplere aliquid (e.g., of your library, bibliothecam tuam, Cic.); or imperfectum aliquid supplere (Suet., Caes., 56); partem relictam explere (to supply a portion that the thing has not yet had): excess is better than defect, satius est aliquid superesse (alicui rei) quam deesse: to see the defects of others, and to forget one’s own, aliorum vitia cernere, oblivisci suorum (Cic., Tusc., 3, 30, 73); magis in aliis cernere, quam in nobismet ipsis, si quid delinquitur (Cic., Off., 1, 41, 146); aliorum vitia in oculis habemus, a tergo nostra (Sen., De Ir., 2, 28, 6). The defect of anything in the one is equal to the excess of it in the other, quanti alteri deest alicujus rei, tantum alteri superest: ☞ defectus (= “the ceasing,” “failing,” etc., Plin.; e.g., lactis) is rare, except in the elder Plin.: defectio (= defect caused by the ceasing or failing of anything) is classical in this sense, but must not be used of any other kind of defect. Vid: FAULT.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for defect?: The usual Latin words for “defect” are vitium, ōs, superō; also redundō, mendōsus, ēmendō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.