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defalcate

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defalcate

  • [ˈdɛfəɫkeɪt] UK

Where it comes from

First attested in the 1530s, in the sense “to lop off”; borrowed from Medieval Latin dēfalcātus, perfect passive participle of dēfalcō (“to cut or lop off”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin dē (“off”) + falx (“sickle, scythe, pruning hook”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

verb defalcates · defalcating · defalcated

  1. intransitive To misappropriate funds; to embezzle.
  2. obsolete, transitive To cut off (a part of something).
  3. obsolete, transitive To deduct or take away (a part of income, money, rents, etc.). One would have thought the natural method in a plan of reformation vvould be, to take the preſent exiſting eſtimates as they ſtand; and then to ſhevv vvhat may be practicably and ſafely defalcated from them.

Translations

Every language

verb to misappropriate funds — see also embezzle

Españoldesfalcar
Русскийрасхища́ть rasxiščátʹ, растра́чивать rastráčivatʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"defalcate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/defalcate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

defalcate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/defalcate

Chicago

"defalcate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/defalcate.

BibTeX
@misc{defalcate_2026,
  title = {defalcate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/defalcate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}