Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Fail in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels fail as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Fail

[OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordfail
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.]
Selected historical definitionMiscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail.
Signed record IDwebster1913-fail-noun-fe0dc272c076
Source locatorCIDE.F, paragraph 390; Gutenberg eBook 663
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 663Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "fail" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.]" The selected historical definition says: "Miscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released F records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

verb

Found

[F. fondre, L. fundere to found, pour.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Face

[F., from L. facies form, shape, face, perh. from facere to make (see Fact); or perh. orig. meaning appearance, and from a root meaning to shine, and akin to E. fancy. Cf. Facetious.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Future

[F. futur, L. futurus, used as fut. p. of esse to be, but from the same root as E. be. See Be, v. i.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Form

[OE. & F. forme, fr. L. forma; cf. Skr. dhariman. Cf. Firm.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Final

[F., fr. L. finalis, fr. finis boundary, limit, end. See Finish.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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