English
erratum
Erratum comes from Latin errātus ‘mistaken’, from errō ‘go astray, err’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-1‘to flow’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-ti1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāō1‘to go astray, waver’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō2‘go astray, err’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātus3‘mistaken’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātum3neuter of errātus
- Englishearliest quotation 1996erratum3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin erro
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin erratus
- 3 Wiktionary, English erratum
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, Timon Screech, Cambridge: “Erratum / The correct ISBN for this book is…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-Wiktionary, Latin erro‘to flow’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-tiWiktionary, Latin errouncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāōWiktionary, Latin erro‘to go astray, waver’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrōWiktionary, Latin erratus‘go astray, err’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātusWiktionary, English erratum‘mistaken’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātumWiktionary, English erratumneuter of errātus
- Englishearliest quotation 1996erratumWiktionary, English erratum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, Timon Screech, Cambridge: “Erratum / The correct ISBN for this book is…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’
through Latin errō ‘go astray, err’
Today it means
noun A published notice reporting an error belatedly discovered in a previous publication.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “erratum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin erro, Latin erratus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- / erratum