Defalcate Definition
dĭ-fălkāt, -fôl-, dĕfəl-
defalcated, defalcates, defalcating
verb
defalcated
To steal or misuse funds entrusted to one's care; embezzle.
Webster's New World
To cut off; to take away or deduct a part of (money, rents, income, etc.).
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
- malversate
- misappropriate
- peculate
- embezzle
Origin of Defalcate
-
1530s, in sense “to lop off”, from Medieval Latin dēfalcātus, perfect passive participle of dēfalcō (“cut or lop off”), from Latin dē (“off”) + falx (“sickle, scythe, pruning hook”), from which also English falcate (“sickle-shaped”).
From Wiktionary
Medieval Latin dēfalcāre dēfalcāt- to mow, deduct Latin dē- de- Latin falx falc- sickle
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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