LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“fault” in Latin

The English word fault itself goes back to Latin fallō, through *fallita.

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

fault
vitium (κακία, any physical or moral imperfection, as a quality, not punishable, but open to censure; hence also, of natural defects; e.g., of a body, of the organs of speech, oris, and even of grammatical faults, Vid: Quint., 1, 5, 5, sqq.): mendum (a blunder; in composition, etc.; but Ovid has also mendo facies caret): error: erratum (an errour committed from oversight, whether in a moral or a physical respect; hence of mistakes or faults in scientific or artistical matters, erratum fabrile, Vid: Cic., Att., 6, 1, 17; and error, in Quint., 1, 5, 47, of a grammatical fault. Opposed to erratum is recte factum and vitium, as quality, Vid: Cic., Cluent, 48, 133; non dicam vitium, sed erratum): lapsus (a slip): peccatum: delictum (an offence against either prudence or morality, errors, mistakes, sins; they are used by Cic. promiscuously; then also of grammatical errors, as Cic., Tusc., 3, 20, 47; paucis verbis tria magna peccata; compare with Quint., 1, 5, 47 and 49, where peccare and delinquere are used in the same sense). To commit a fault, errare, labi (to make a blunder, slip, etc.); peccare: peccatum admittere (to act wrong; peccare also of grammatical faults): a great or gross fault, turpissime labi in re: to pardon a fault that should be attributed to human infirmity, veniam errori humane dare: to be looked upon as a fault, vitio esse: to correct a fault, mendum, errorem, peccatum (with distinction above explained) corrigere: to correct a fault that one has committed, mendum tollere; errorem tollere: full of faults, vitiosus: mendosus: very full, in quo multa vitia insunt (e.g., of writings, with reference to grammatical errors, after Quint., 1, 5, 36); in quo multa perperam dicta sunt (with reference to the assertions made, etc.); mendosissime descriptus (with reference to the part of the copyist or printer): quick at seeing the faults of one’s neighbor, acrius videre vitium in alio: to see the faults of others, and be blind to one’s own, aliorum vitia cernere, oblivisci suorum (Cic., Tusc., 3, 33, 73); magis in aliis cernere, quam in nobismet ipsis, si quid delinquitur (Cic., Off., 1, 41, 146); videre nostra mala non possumus; alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus (Phaedrus, 4, 10 (9), 5); aliorum vitia in oculis habemus, a tergo nostra (Sen., De Ir., 2, 28, 6); papulas observas alienas, ipse obsttus plurimis ulceribus (id., De vit. Beat., 27, 4); cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis, Cur in amicorum vitiis tam cernis acutum, Quam aut aquila aut serpens Epidaurius? (Hor., Sat., 1, 3, 25, sqq.): to impute anything to anybody as a fault, alicui aliquid vitio dare, ducere, vertere: to have slight faults, mediocribus vitiis teneri (†); many, vitiis excellere, abundare: having no faults [Vid: FAULTLESS]: to find fault with anybody for etc., vitio alicui dare, quod etc.: they find fault with me for being so distressed at anybody’s death, vitio mihi dant, quod alicujus mortem tam graviter fero (Cic.): all singers have this fault, omnibus hoc vitium est cantoribus (†): it is my fault, mea culpa est: it is entirely my own fault, culpa mea propria est: to confess that one was in fault, culpam or facinus in se admittere: to say that nobody was in fault but one’s self, in se transferre omnem culpam: anything was not my fault, aliquid non mea culpa factum est or evenit (Terentianus): to be fault, in culpa esse: to be considered in fault, in culpa poni: not to be in fault, carere culpo; abesse a culpa; esse extra culpam: to be equally in fault, simili esse in culpa: anybody is in fault, est culpa in aliquo: that was my fault, id culpa contigit mea: it is, was etc., no fault of mine, that etc., non fit meo vitio, ut etc.; non stetit per me, ut, etc.; non impedivi quominus (I did nothing to prevent it): it was his fault that... not etc., stetit per eum, quominus, etc.
To be at fault, PROPR., of dogs; nullius ferae vestigium exstat (Curt.); *nulla jam vestigia cernere, animadvertere, etc.; *non jam odorari posse feram, etc. IMPROPR., confusum et incertum esse (of Hercules, when he was at fault, in consequence of Cacus’s trick, Liv., 1, 7): or by nulla exstant vestigia (e.g., ad quos pertinet facinus, Liv., 31, 12); or pendere animi or animo.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for fault?
The usual Latin words for “fault” are vitium, menda, errō; also lābor, peccō, dēlinquō. 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.