Lapsus

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈlæpsəs/

Definitions

1. A temporary failure of memory or concentration, or a minor error made inadvertently in speech or writing
2. A momentary slip in memory, attention, or control resulting in an unintentional mistake in utterance or text
3. An inadvertent break in mental focus or recall that produces a small error in spoken or written expression

Etymology: Latin "lāpsus" is the past participle of "lābī," to slide or fall, and it passed into English as a noun meaning a slip or fall. English already had "lapse" from the same Latin source, so the two are doublets: one arrived through French and drifted toward the sense of a passing interval of time, while "lapsus" was taken directly from Latin and kept its sense of a single slip. The Latin root gives the word its physical core. A lapse of footing and a lapse of memory share the same picture of something sliding out of its proper place. The modern sense in which the word names an unintentional error in speech or writing, such as saying one name for another, follows naturally from that picture. Its use as a technical term for such errors in speech is what the English word mainly preserves.