defalcation
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Late 15th century, from Medieval Latin dēfalcātiōnem, accusative singular of dēfalcātiō (literally “cutting off, lopping off with a sickle”), nominalization of dēfalcō, from Latin dē (“off”) + falx (“sickle, scythe, pruning hook”)[1], from which also English falcate (“sickle-shaped”).
Surface analysis is defalcate + -tion (“the act of”).
[edit] Noun
defalcation (plural defalcations)
- (law) The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant.
- embezzlement
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
act of cancelling part of a claim
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[edit] References
- ^ “defalcation” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
