lapse

Meanings

Noun

• A temporary failure; a slip.
• A decline or fall in standards.
• A pause in continuity.
• An interval of time between events.
• A termination of a right etc., through disuse or neglect.
• A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air.
• A common-law rule that if the person to whom property is willed were to die before the testator, then the gift would be ineffective.
• A fall or apostasy.

Verb

• To fall away gradually; to subside.
• To fall into error or heresy.
• To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
• To become void.
• To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of somebody, such as a patron or legatee.

Origin

• From Middle French laps, from Latin lāpsus, from lābī. lapsus.