To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
To miss attaining; to lose.
To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence.
To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of.
To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink.
To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker.
To perish; to die; used of a person.
To err in judgment; to be mistaken.
To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
From Middle English failen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallire, alteration of Latin fallere, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰāl- or Proto-Indo-European *sgʷʰh₂el-. Compare Dutch feilen, falen, German fehlen, Danish fejle, Swedish fela, Icelandic feila, Spanish fallar.
Unknown. Compare Scottish Gaelic fàl ("hedge"), Scots faill ("turf"). Attested from the 16th century.
Modern English dictionary
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