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defalcation

American  
[dee-fal-key-shuhn, -fawl-] / ˌdi fælˈkeɪ ʃən, -fɔl- /

noun

Law.

  1. misappropriation of money or funds held by an official, trustee, or other fiduciary.

  2. the sum misappropriated.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of defalcation

1425–75; late Middle English: deduction from wages (< Middle French ) < Medieval Latin dēfalcātiōn- (stem of dēfalcātiō ) a taking away, equivalent to dēfalcāt ( us ) ( see defalcate) + -iōn- -ion

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.