▪ I. default, n.
(dɪˈfɔːlt)
Forms: 3–6 defaut, -e, (4 defauȝte), 4–5 def-, diffaute, 5 defawt(e, (deffawte, defauute), 5–7 defalt, 5–6 defalte, -faulte, (5 deffault(e, 6 difalt, deafaulte), 6– default.
[ME. a. OF. defaute, deriv. of defaillir, after faute and faillir: see fault. Nearly superseded in Fr. by a masc. variant defaut (in Froissart 14th c.), mod.F. défaut; in Eng., forms without final -e appear also in 14th c., but those with -e came down as late as the 16th.
The spellings defalte, defaulte, appear in Anglo-Fr. of 13–14th c.; and defalt, default, in English of 15th c., but the l was not generally pronounced until the 17th or 18th c.: cf. fault.]
I. Failure of something, want, defect.
† 1. a. Absence (of something wanted); want, lack, scarcity of; = fault n. 1. Obs. or arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1718 (Cott.) [That] þou haue defaut [v.rr. defaute, deffaute] of mete and drink. Ibid. 4601 (Gött.) Suilk diffaute sal be of bred, þe folk sal be for hunger dede. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 569 Gret defaut off mete had thai. Ibid. xiv. 368 Defalt of mete. c 1380 Wyclif Serm Sel. Wks. I. 70 Certis defaute of bileve is cause of oure sleuthe. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 199 Bi necligence & defaute of help manie men ben perischid. a 1470 Tiptoft Cæsar iv. (1530) 6 They had defawte of all things as be convenyent. 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Pref. 14 Ignoraunce and defaulte of litterature. 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits (1616) 90 Through default of a well made penne he is forced to write with a sticke. 1654 H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 19 And a great default there was..of sufficient pay, of holesome meat, and unanimity. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 94 Two kinds of deafness are those arising from an excess of wax in the ear, or its total default. |
† b. absol. Lack of food or other necessaries; want, poverty. Obs.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 261/16 For non ne scholde for defaute bi-leue þe foule sunne. a 1300 Cursor M. (Cott.) 4760 Þan iacob and his suns warn For defaut wel ner for-farn. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 67 He..fedde þat a-fyngred were and in defaute lyueden. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 166 b/1 They of the towne within had so grete defaulte that they ete theyr shoys and lachettis. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clxxxvi. 186 Many dyed for defaute. |
c. for default of (obs.), in default of: through the failure or want of, in the absence of; † in default: failing these (this, etc.).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 457 Vor defaute of wyt. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 5, I haue so many an idel þouȝt Purli for defaute of slepe. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 93 The fissh, if it be drie, Mote in defalte of water deie. 1464 Bury Wills (Camden) 24 For the defawte of eyr male. 1568 Turner Herbal iii. 29 In defaut of it he teacheth to take halfe as much of Asarabacca. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 47 And for default of other matter forsooth, how they laught at me. 1650 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. (1860) I. 2 It shall be lawful..to make Probates of Wills, and default of a will to grant Letters of Administration in the Colony. 1689 Hickeringill Ceremony-Monger, Wks. (1716) II. 468 The Presbyters or (in default) any Church Member. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 104 In default of that perfection of wisdom and virtue. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 340 And for default of issue of the body of the said Thomas, to [etc.]. 1865 J. C. Wilcocks Sea Fisherman (1875) 27 Pilchards for bait may frequently be procured..in default of which Mussels can be obtained. |
2. A failure in being perfect; an imperfection, defect, blemish, flaw; = fault 3: a. in character or things immaterial. Obs. or arch.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 4 He shal be put out..in-to tyme þ{supt} he haue hym amended of þe defautes to-fore said. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 160 She is with oute defauute. a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) N ij b, Al defautes in a gouernour may be borne saue ignoraunce. 1680–90 Temple Ess. Learn. Wks. 1731 I. 151 New [books]..have many of them their Beauties as well as their Defaults. 1704 Swift T. Tub v. 80 Forcing into light my own excellencies and other men's defaults. 1880 Kinglake Crimea VI. vi. 143 Grave defaults all the while lay hidden under the surface. |
† b. in appearance, structure, etc.: Physical defect or blemish. Obs.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 5016 And if any lym wanted..or any war over smalle..God þan wille Alle þe defautes of þe lyms fulfille. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) iii. 9 Þai..fand þe same letters..als fresch as þai ware on þe first day withouten any defaute. 1487 Churchw. Acc. Wigtoft, Linc. (Nichols 1797) 82 For mending and stoppyng of the botrasses, and other defauts in the chirche walles. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 39 Lynt sede..when it is raw it taketh away the defautes of the face and frekles. 1634 T. Johnson tr. Parey's Chirurg. xxvi. xvi. (1678) 639 All such defaults must be taken away, and then..an epulotick applied. |
II. Failure in performance.
3. a. Failure to act; neglect; spec. in Law, failure to perform some legal requirement or obligation, esp. failure to attend in a court on the day assigned; often in the phrase to make default. judgement by default: a judgement given for the plaintiff on the defendant's failing to plead or put in his answer within the proper time. to go by default: of a legal judgement, to be given for the plaintiff by default of the defendant; hence in gen. use, to fail or be overlooked by reason of negligence, lack of exposition, etc.
| [1292 Britton i. ii §8 Et si le pleyntif face defaute a nuli Counté.] c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 58 Defaute he mad þat day. Þerfor was þe dome gyuen..To exile þe erle Godwyn. 1411 E.E. Wills (1882) 20 Takynge a distresse in defawte of payment. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 7 If any..make defaute at the day and place. 1588 Fraunce Lawiers Log. 53 b, If hee bee nonsuite in an action, or doe commit any such like default. 1666 Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 208 The calling over the defaults of Members appearing in the House. 1736 Neal Hist. Purit. III. 540 His Majesty persisting in his refusal to plead, the clerk was ordered to record the default. 1764 Croker, etc. Dict. Arts & Sc. s.v., Where a defendant makes default, judgment shall be had against him by default. 1827 Jarman Powell's Devises (ed. 3) II. 155 The period of foreclosure is the date of the final order of the Court, following default of payment on the day appointed. 1851 H. Martineau Hist. Peace (1877) III. iv. ix. 21 He had allowed judgment to go by default. 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. June 216/3 The problem must not be allowed to go by default. 1985 Guardian 18 Nov. 6/7 Part of the new Soviet policy of using the media more professionally has meant that the US side of the case went by default. |
| attrib. 1892 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 15 Jan. 8/3 John F. Delaney was arrested..this morning on a default warrant issued by the Superior Court. 1894 Daily News 7 Feb. 7/8 A default summons in which the company sought to recover payment of an account. |
b. Computing. A preselected option adopted by a computer when no alternative is specified by the user or programmer. Usu. attrib.
| 1966 G. M. Weinberg PL/1 Programming Primer iv. 74 The use of default attributes can contribute to the ease of writing and modifying a program. 1969 ― PL/1 Programming ii. 106/1 The entire secret of successful defaults lies in the ability of the language designer to make a good guess at what the programmer is going to want to do in most cases. 1971 A. Ralston Introd. Programming & Computer Sci. vi. 239 The best compilers now being written have default conditions for all syntactic errors which attempt to correct the error in the most likely fashion. 1971 Computers & Humanities V. 155 fortran..has more default options (thus requiring far fewer declarations of variables). 1974 R. Hannula Computers & Programming v. 91 There are four subfields in the operand field of which only type is required. The duplication factor, if used, may be any nonnegative integer from 1 to 65,535. The default for this subfield is one. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 211/4 This area is unaffected by any screen operations using the default screen sizes. |
† 4. a. Failure in duty, care, etc.; as the cause of some untoward event; culpable neglect of some duty or obligation; = fault 7. Obs.
to be in default: to fail in one's duty.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26241 (Cott.) If þi barne for þi defaut be for-farne. c 1400 Lay Folk's Mass Bk. App. iii. 126 He is continuelly in defaute aȝen þat myȝtteful lord. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 Thurgh whilk ilk man es saued, bot if it be his awen defaute. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 60 Greatt defawte with hym youre fader fand. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxix. 634 The rebellion..hath coste..many a mans lyfe in Gaunt, and parauenture many a one that were in no defaulte. 1549 Latimer 5th Serm. (Arb.) 149 They shall aunswere for all the soules that peryshe throughe theyr defaute. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. 473 Those calamities which happen by their owne default. 1671 Milton Samson 45 What if all foretold Had been fulfilled but through mine own default, Whom have I to complain of but myself? 1742 Pope Dunciad iv. 486 A God without a Thought, Regardless of our merit or default. |
† b. transf. of things: Failure to act or perform its normal or required functions. default of the sun (L. defectus solis): eclipse. Obs.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 5015 If any lym wanted..Thurgh þe defaut here of kynd. 1520 Caxton's Chron. Eng. iii. 19/1 Talus founde fyrste the defaute of the sonne and the moone. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 131 It is your Oxe that by default of your owne fence hath entred my ground. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. iii. §2 Faith, opinion..Ratiocination, are all accidentally depraved by the default of the imagination. 1736 Gray Let. to West in Mason Life (ed. 2) 14 If the default of your spirits and nerves be nothing but the effect of the hyp, I have no more to say. |
† 5. a. (with a and pl.) A failure in duty; a wrong act or deed; a fault, misdeed, offence; = fault 5.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 136 Beon icnowen ofte to God of..hire defautes touward him. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxl. 4 It is þe manere of vnqueynt men when þai ere takyn with a defaute to excuse þaim wiþ falshede. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 102 Ye god amende defautes sire quod she. 1539 Manual of Prayers, Lauds, Grant us pardon of our defaults. 1548 Gest Pr. Masse 74 To murder a gyltlesse personne is a defaulte full grevouse. 1635 Quarles Embl. iii. iv. 139 Thine owne defaults did urge This twofold punishment. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 264 That no Timber be laid within the Tunnel of any Chimny, upon penalty to the Workman for every Default ten Shillings. 1719 Bp. of London in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 201 It is..a grief to hear of any defaults and irregularities among you. |
† b. A failure in what is attempted; an error, mistake; = fault 5 b. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 962 With so glad chier his gestes sche receyveth, And so connyngly everich in his degre, That no defaute no man aparceyveth. 1426 Paston Lett. No. 7 I. 25 Hem semyth..by the defautes ye espied in the same..that the processe..is false and untrewe. 1590 Hutchinson in Greenwood Collect. Sclaund. Art. C b, Your vnsufficient Argument hath 2. defaults in it. 1737 L. Clarke Hist. Bible iv. (1740) 192 One great Default..was, that they did not make a right use of their victories. 1822 Southey Vis. Judgement 111 There he..accuses For his own defaults the men who too faithfully served him. |
† 6. Failure in any course; spec. in Hunting, failure to follow the scent; loss of the scent or track by the hounds; = fault n. 8. Obs.
| a 1300 Leg. Rood (1871) 22 Our stapes worþ isene Þer-by þou myȝt wiþþoute defaute to paradys euene gon. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 384 The houndis hade ouershet hem al, And were on a defaute [v.r. defaulte] ifal. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E vj b, And iff yowre houndis chase at hert or at haare and thay renne at defaute. 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. ii. v. (Arb.) 31 Thrise our hounds were at default. 1741 Compl. Fam. Piece ii. i. 291 The Huntsman..assisting them at every Default, when they have either lost the Slot, or follow not the right. |
7. Failure to meet financial engagements; the action of defaulting in money matters.
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Default, a failure of payment of instalments, etc., agreed upon, or in the due execution of a contract. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 209 Convicted of fraud or default. 1890 Daily News 8 Nov. 5/4 Some defaults are expected at the Stock Exchange settlement next week. |
8. attrib. Dealing with or connected with a default, as default authority, default interest, default price.
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 29 July 5/3 If a client borrowed {pstlg}100, say, and paid off {pstlg}90, ‘default interest’ at the rate of one halfpenny per shilling per week..was at once charged on the {pstlg}10 in arrear. 1908 Daily Chron. 13 May 7/7 While the county council is the default authority in case of the failure of the district council in sanitation, the Local Government Board is the default authority in case of the district council's failure to do what is needed in housing. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 8/2 The Army authorities saying that if plaintiffs would not take the cattle the beasts would subsequently be issued at default prices. |
▪ II. default, v.
(dɪˈfɔːlt)
Forms: 4–5 defaut(e, 5 defawte, 6–7 defalt, 6 difalt, 6– default.
[ME. ad. OF. defaillir (in 3rd sing. pres. defalt, defaut, default) to fail, be wanting, make default, = Pr. defalhir, defaylhir, OCat. defallir, Romanic type defallīre, f. de- + fallīre, fallēre, L. fallĕre: see fail. Cf. It. sfallire (disfallire), Sp. defallecer, to fail. In English associated with default n.]
1. intr. To be wanting; to fail. Obs. (exc. as in quot. 1860, transf. from sense 3.)
| c 1340 Cursor M. 8572 (Fairf.) Riches sal þe defaute nane. 1382 Wyclif Num. xi. 33 Ȝit flesh was in the teethe of hem, ne defautide siche a maner mete. 1860 Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 121 The Court advised the Captain to account to his Owners for the money which was defaulting. |
† b. To have want of, be deprived of. rare—1.
| c 1440 Gesta Rom. xxxvi. 140 (Add. MS.), I leue to the my doughtir..and I comaunde the, that she defaute of none thyng..as longeth to a maiden for to haue. |
† 2. To fail in strength or vigour, faint; to suffer failure. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Judg. viii. 5 And he seide.. ȝyueth looues to the puple, that is with me, for greetlich thei defauten [1388 for thei failiden greetli]. Ibid. 15 That we ȝeuen to the men, that ben wery and han defautid, looues. a 1440 [see defaulting vbl. n.]. a 1592 Greene James IV, ii. ii, And can your..king Default, ye lords, except yourselves do fail? a 1617 Bayne On Eph. (1658) 34 No inferiour cause can default beside his intention. |
3. To make default; to be guilty of default; to fail to fulfil an obligation, esp. one legally required, as to appear in court at the proper time.
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 21 He..pardon crav'd for his so rash default That he gainst courtesie so fowly did default. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 479 This was..punishable if defaulted in. 1730–6 in Bailey (folio). 1828 [see defaulting ppl. a.]. 1845 R. W. Hamilton Pop. Educ. viii. (ed. 2) 199 The Dissenters..in the Weekly Schools..are grievously defaulting. 1857 [see defaulting ppl. a.]. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. II. viii. iv. 318 There is one Rath..who has been found actually defaulting; peculating from that pious hoard. 1892 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 15 Jan. 8/3 Delaney was arrested by officers..this morning..He was arrested July 21..and defaulted. |
b. To fail to meet financial engagements.
| 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. xix. (1876) 256 The colony..will cease to get fresh creditors, as assuredly as any defaulting foreign Government does. 1885 Truth 11 June 925/2 To insist upon Egypt paying her creditors, and to let Turkey default to hers is a palpable contradiction. 1886 Manch. Exam. 9 Jan. 5/1 Last year..44 companies, with 8,386 miles of main line, defaulted and passed into receiverships. |
4. trans. To put in default; to make or adjudge a defaulter; in Law, to declare (a party) in default and enter judgement against him (see quot. 1828).
| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 182 Ihone the balleoll, that swa sone Was all defawtyt & wndone. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 87 a, No man of full age shalbe received in any ple by the law to difalt or disable his owne person. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Sok, The court beand fensed, the Serjand thereof sall call the Soytes, and defalt the absentes. 1828 Webster, Default, to call a defendant officially, to appear and answer in court, and on his failing to answer, to declare him in default, and enter judgment against him; as, let the defendant be defaulted..[also] the cause was defaulted. |
† 5. To fail to perform; to omit, neglect. Obs.
| 1648 Milton Tenure Kings (1649) 32 Wee shall not need dispute..what they have defaulted towards him as no king. 1656 Sanderson Serm. (1689) 388 He that defalteth anything of that just honour. |
6. To fail to pay.
| 1889 Pall Mall G. 27 Apr. 6/3 Mexico..defaulted her interest after promising to pay 5 per cent. |