defalcate

[ dih-fal-keyt, -fawl- ]

verb (used without object)

, Law.

, de·fal·cat·ed, de·fal·cat·ing.

1. to be guilty of defalcation.

defalcate

/ ˈdiːfælˌkeɪt /

verb

1. intr law to misuse or misappropriate property or funds entrusted to one

Derived Forms

• ˈdefalˌcator, noun
• ˌdefalˈcation, noun

Other Words From

• de·falca·tor noun
• unde·falcat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of defalcate¹

1530–40; < Medieval Latin dēfalcātus (past participle of dēfalcāre to cut off), equivalent to dē- de- + falcātus; falcate

Word History and Origins

Origin of defalcate¹

C15: from Medieval Latin dēfalcāre to cut off, from Latin de- + falx sickle

Example Sentences

Defalcate, de-fal′kāt, v.t. to deduct a part of, of money, &c.: to embezzle money held on trust.—ns.

From Project Gutenberg

By treaties you may defalcate part of the empire; engagements may be made to raise an army, and you may be transported to Europe, to fight the wars of ambitious princes; money may be contracted for, and you must pay it; and a thousand other obligations may be entered into; all which will become the supreme law of the land, and you are bound by it.

From Project Gutenberg

No one can defalcate in this particular; no one can Texas-ize and be quit of his transgressions and his onward travel.

From Project Gutenberg

An embezzler can not defalcate in Nova Scotia, lightly skip into Manitoba and put both provinces to expense and technical trouble apprehending him.

From Project Gutenberg

What if all he says of the state of this balance were true? did not the same objections always lie to custom-house entries? do they defalcate more from the entries of 1766 than from those of 1754?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bereave
• break into
• cheat
• defraud
• divest
• hijack
• loot
• lose
• mug
• plunder
• raid
• ransack
• strip