defalcation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   law: intentional or reckless misuse of money or property entrusted to one's care

   The trustee was removed after an audit uncovered a serious defalcation.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a deduction, reduction, or shortfall, especially in revenue or an account

   Fraudulent drawbacks caused a substantial defalcation of customs revenue.

3. 3
   noun

   a failure to meet a duty, promise, or expectation

   The board treated the missed payments as a defalcation of the contractor's obligations.

From Medieval Latin defalcatio, 'cutting off or deduction,' from defalcare, based on Latin falx, 'sickle.' The early sense was a cutting down of an amount; the later legal sense concerns money missing through a fiduciary's misuse.

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