errancy

[ er-uhn-see, ur- ]

noun

, plural er·ran·cies.

1. the state or an instance of erring. erring.
2. tendency to err.

ˈerrancy

/ ˈɛrənsɪ /

noun

1. the state or an instance of erring or a tendency to err
2. Christianity the holding of views at variance with accepted doctrine

Word History and Origins

Origin of errancy¹

First recorded in 1615–25, errancy is from the Latin word errantia a wandering. See errant, -cy

Example Sentences

Was Brady's occasional errancy, with a quarterback rating just 19th in the league at season's end, the fault of an arm that doesn't always do his bidding anymore, and skittishness under pressure?

From Washington Post

Traversing Central and Eastern Europe, New York, California, the Southwestern U. S., Buenos Aires, and Haiti, Reines resembles a cosmic outlaw, a modern-day wandering Jew, whose errancy and alienation disrupts illusions of order.

From The New Yorker

Nature makes lots of mistakes in the process of evolving its creatures to fulfill the process of natural selection but we cannot afford that same errancy.

From New York Times

The entire compass of his errancy is present in his opening lines:

From BBC

Like Milne’s books, the movie is partly an initiation into the delightful errancies of language, which fashions sense and nonsense out of the same materials.

From New York Times

Related Words

• frailty