Do you know the roots of the word “fault“? Have you ever commited a fault or faux pas? The word “fault” denotes a wrong action. In addition, the word “fault” refers to an imperfection in a machine or an object. It is the quality of falling short of flawlessness or being inadequate. Sometimes, we use the word “fault” to mean responsibility for a bad event or situation as in “It was not Mike’s fault; it was mine. As an earthquake term, “fault” means “a fracture or break in the Earth’s crust along which movement has taken place”. A good example of this meaning would be as follows: “Unfortunately, some contractors tend to design and build some of their houses right over geological faults.”
Etymologically, the word fault comes from a 13th-century word “faute” or “falte” in the Old French. The word fault means flaw, mistake or defect. More examples can be seen below: