Faulte

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of fault, meaning a flaw or imperfection in something ; responsibility for a wrong or mistake ; a break or crack running through layers of rock
2. An older form of the word for a defect or shortcoming ; the blame or guilt owed for an offense ; a crack in the earth where rock layers have slipped apart
3. A former spelling of a word meaning an imperfection in a thing ; culpability for an error or misdeed ; a fissure in the earth's rock where the strata have shifted

Etymology: Middle English "faute" (also spelled "faulte") came into English from Old French "faute," meaning a lack, a failing, or a mistake. The French word traces back to Vulgar Latin "fallita," the feminine past participle of "fallere," "to deceive" or "to fail." That Latin root is the same one behind English "fail" and "false," so a fault is, at bottom, something that lets you down. The sense of an imperfection in things, such as a flaw in a machine, a crack in rock, or a defect in cloth, grew out of the broader idea of a failing or shortcoming. Geologists later borrowed the word for a fracture along which rock layers have shifted, and that is why earthquake zones are still called faults.