Etymograph

English

erration

Erration comes from Latin errātiō ‘wandering’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-1‘to flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-ti1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāō1‘to roam, wander’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō2‘to wander’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātiō3‘wandering’
  6. Englishtodayerration3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin erro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin erratio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English erration

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-Wiktionary, Latin erro‘to flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-tiWiktionary, Latin errouncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāōWiktionary, Latin erro‘to roam, wander’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrōWiktionary, Latin erratio‘to wander’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrātiōWiktionary, English erration‘wandering’
  6. EnglishtodayerrationWiktionary, English erration

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’

rory, rouse, rishi, 21 more

through Latin errō ‘to wander’

error, err, erroneous, errant, 7 more

Today it means

noun Wandering or straying.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “erration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin erro, Latin erratio. 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- / erration

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