Omissioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of leaving something out or failing to include it ; a particular item or detail that has been left out or neglected
2. Excluding or neglecting to include something in a whole ; a specific thing that was not included or was left undone
3. The failure to put in or mention something that should have been included ; a particular item that was skipped or dropped from a text, list, or account

Etymology: Written as "omissioun," this is a Middle English spelling of the noun we now write "omission." English borrowed it from Old French, which took it from the Latin "omissio," a noun built on the verb "omittere." That verb combines "ob," meaning "away," with "mittere," meaning "send" or "let go," so its original sense was letting something go or passing it by. The same Latin root sits behind a family of familiar English words, including "mission," "missile," "emit," and "transmit." Each keeps the idea of sending something forth, while "omission" moved toward the sense of letting something slip out of a list, account, or process.