malfunction

WOTD – 7 March 2008    

English

Etymology

From mal- (“bad, incorrect”) + function

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /ˌmælˈfʌŋk.ʃən/, X-SAMPA: /%m{l"fVNk.S@n/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋkʃən

Noun

malfunction (plural malfunctions)

1. faulty functioning
2. failure to function

Translations

Faulty functioning

• Dutch: slechte werking f
• Esperanto: malfunkciado (eo)
• Finnish: toimintahäiriö, virhetoiminta
• German: Fehlfunktion f, Funktionsstörung f

• Greek: δυσλειτουργία (el) (ðislitourgía) f
• Italian: malfunzionamento (it)
• Polish: wadliwe działanie n

Failure to function

• Dutch: stuk zijn n, storing (nl) f
• Finnish: toimintahäiriö
• French: défaut de fonctionnement m
• German: Fehlfunktion f, Funktionsstörung f

• Greek: δυσλειτουργία (el) (ðislitourgía) f
• Italian: malfunzionamento (it)
• Polish: awaria (pl) f

Verb

malfunction (third-person singular simple present malfunctions, present participle malfunctioning, simple past and past participle malfunctioned)

1. to function improperly

   She told him the machine was poorly built, but they both knew that she was the one who had malfunctioned.

2. to fail to function

Translations

to function improperly

• Finnish: toimia huonosti
• German: nicht funktionieren

• Polish: wadliwie działać
• ǃXóõ: ǁʻàa

to fail to function

• German: nicht funktionieren
• Polish: nie działać

• ǃXóõ: ǁʻàa