See Also: lapse(1)(dictionary)
lapse(medicine)
Lapse(money)
Lapse(finance)
lapse(2)(dictionary)
time-lapse(dictionary)
lapse 2, verb(dictionary)
lapse 1, noun(dictionary)
LAPSE, eccl(law)
time lapse(medicine)

lapse(1) (iou)



lapse noun. [laps] LME.
[Latin lapsus, from laps- pa. ppl stem of labi glide, slip, fall, rel. to labare slip, labor LABOUR noun.]
Law. The termination of a right or privilege (orig. to ecclesiastical patronage) through disuse or failure to follow appropriate procedures. LME.
The gliding or passing away of time, one's life, etc.; an interval of time elapsed. LME.
M. O. W. Oliphant A lapse of a hundred years is not much in the story of..Florence. F. Norris The fountain made itself heard,..marking off the lapse of seconds, the progress of hours.
b. A gliding or flow of water. Also, a gentle downward motion. arch. M17.
A slip of the memory, the tongue, the pen, etc.; a mistake, a slight error. L15.
V. Brome Freud now made a long..attempt to justify his lapse of memory. J. Viorst Expecting to be betrayed, we seize on every flaw and lapse.
A weak or careless deviation or falling from what is right; a moral slip. L15.
the Lapse (of Man) Theology = the Fall (of Man) s.v. FALL noun2.
E. Mannin His occasional alcoholic lapses shouldn't be held against him. Ld Macaulay The hero sank again into a voluptuary; and the lapse was deep and hopeless.
b. Theology. A falling away from the faith or into heresy. M17.
A decline to a lower state or degree. Formerly also, a fall in temperature. M16.
A falling into ruin. rare. E17.
Comb.: lapse rate Meteorology the rate of fall of atmospheric temperature with altitude.