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Which word shares the same Latin root meaning "to creak, rattle, or crack," with discrepancy?

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discrepancy

American  

[dih-skrep-uhn-see] / dɪˈskrɛp ən si /

Also discrepance

noun

• discrepancies
  plural

1. 

   the state or quality of being discrepant or in disagreement, as by displaying an unexpected or unacceptable difference; inconsistency.

   The discrepancy between the evidence and his account of what happened led to his arrest.

   Synonyms:

   variance, contrariety, discordance, disagreement, incongruity

2. an instance of difference or inconsistency.

   There are certain discrepancies between the two versions of the story.

   Synonyms:

   variation

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discrepancy British  

/ dɪˈskrɛpənsɪ /

noun

1. a conflict or variation, as between facts, figures, or claims

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Usage

Discrepancy is sometimes wrongly used where disparity is meant. A discrepancy exists between things which ought to be the same; it can be small but is usually significant. A disparity is a large difference between measurable things such as age, rank, or wages

Synonym Usage

See difference.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• discrepancies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of discrepancy

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin discrepantia, from discrepant- (stem of discrepāns “sounding discordant”; see discrepant) + -ia -y ³ ( def. )

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Explanation

A discrepancy is a lack of agreement or balance. If there is a discrepancy between the money you earned and the number on your paycheck, you should complain to your boss. There is a discrepancy when there is a difference between two things that should be alike. For example, there can be a wide discrepancy or a slight discrepancy between two objects, stories, or facts. The noun discrepancy is from Latin discrepare "to sound differently," from the prefix dis- "from" plus crepare "to rattle, creak."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discrepancy discrepancies

Dollar General’s longstanding policy is that store managers can and should match lower shelf tag prices when a discrepancy is found, a company spokeswoman said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Responding to Saturday's developments dating the letter to 2019, a spokesman for the duchess said "any discrepancy of a few months" was "an understandable consequence of that passage of time".

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

You can easily run into walls, which may explain some of the discrepancy between the number of people who have an interest in Roth conversions and the number who actually do them.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

This same discrepancy has made the journalism thriller itself feel somewhat archaic.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

This discrepancy between evolutionary success and individual suffering is perhaps the most important lesson we can draw from the Agricultural Revolution.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Millions of voters have also been flagged for additional scrutiny after the ECI used automated systems to detect what they described as "logical discrepancies", including mismatched names and inconsistencies in family details.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

“However, we are conscious of potential discrepancies between our price assumptions and those used by both CSC and the party acquiring the asset,” it says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

History also gives physicists a reason to pay attention to tiny discrepancies.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Discussion of those and other discrepancies have been around for a long time.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

They exploited understandable discrepancies between the bulletins and the individual in the courtroom—was there proof that this Benjamin Jones was the Benjamin Jones in question?

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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Related Words

• difference
• disparity
• distinction
• divergence
• error
• inconsistency
• miscalculation
• variation

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