[fɒlt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an unattractive or unsatisfactory feature, especially in a piece of work or in a person's character
(e.g: my worst fault is impatience)

- responsibility for an accident or misfortune
(e.g: if books were not selling, it wasn't the fault of the publishers)

- an extended break in a rock formation, marked by the relative displacement and discontinuity of strata on either side of a particular plane
(e.g: a landscape broken by numerous faults)


Phrases:
- at fault
- find fault
- — to a fault

Origin:
Middle English faut(e) ‘lack, failing’, from Old French, based on Latin fallere ‘deceive’. The -l- was added (in French and English) in the 15th century to conform with the Latin word, but did not become standard in English until the 17th century, remaining silent in pronunciation until well into the 18th

[fɒlt], (Verb)

Definitions:
- criticize for inadequacy or mistakes
(e.g: her superiors could not fault her dedication to the job)

- (of a rock formation) be broken by a fault or faults
(e.g: the continental crust has been thinned and faulted as a result of geological processes)


Phrases:
- at fault
- find fault
- — to a fault

Origin:
Middle English faut(e) ‘lack, failing’, from Old French, based on Latin fallere ‘deceive’. The -l- was added (in French and English) in the 15th century to conform with the Latin word, but did not become standard in English until the 17th century, remaining silent in pronunciation until well into the 18th