err: [14] Err, erratic [14], erroneous [14], and error [13] all go back to a prehistoric base *er-, which meant ‘wandering about’ (the semantic progression from ‘wandering’ to ‘making mistakes’ is reproduced in several other quite unrelated word groups in the Indo-European language family). This produced Gothic airzei ‘error’, Old High German irri ‘astray’ (source of modern German irre ‘angry’), Old English ierre ‘astray’, and Latin errāre ‘wander, make mistakes’ – from which, via Old French errer, English got err. => erratic, error
err (v.)
c. 1300, from Old French errer "go astray, lose one's way; make a mistake; transgress," from Latin errare "wander, go astray," figuratively "be in error," from PIE root *ers- (1) "be in motion, wander around" (cognates: Sanskrit arsati "flows;" Old English ierre "angry; straying;" Old Frisian ire "angry;" Old High German irri "angry," irron "astray;" Gothic airziþa "error; deception;" the Germanic words reflecting the notion of anger as a "straying" from normal composure). Related: Erred; erring.
权威例句
1. They may be wise to err on the side of caution.
他们过于谨慎也许是明智的。
2. To err is human, and nobody likes a perfect person.
是人都会犯错,而且谁也不喜欢完人。
3. To err is human.
[谚]人皆有过.
4. She would not err in any way, if she could help it.