Webster's English Dictionary

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fault

1. fault \'fo.lt\ n [ME faute, fr. OF, fr. (assumed) VL fallita, fr. fem. 
   of fallitu]s, pp. of L fallere to deceive, disappoint - more at FAIL obs  
   1: LACK  2a: WEAKNESS, FAILING; esp : a moral weakness less seri ous than a 
   vice 2b: a physical or intellectual imperfection or impairment  2c: an 
   error in a racket game  3a: MISDEMEANOR  3b: MISTAKE  4: responsibility for 
   wrongdoing or failure  5: a fracture in the earth's crust accompanied by a 
   displacement of one sid e of the fracture with respect to the other and in 
   a direction parallel to the fracturemean an imperfection or weakness of 
   character. FAULT implies a failure, not necessarily culpable, to reach some 
   standard of perfection in disposition, action, or habit; FAILING suggests a 
   shortcoming in character, usu. minor in degree, of which one may be 
   unaware; FRAILTY implies a general or chronic proneness to yield to 
   temptation; FOIBLE applies to a harmless weakness or idiosyncrasy more 
   likely to be endearing than disfiguring; VICE is a general term for any 
   imperfection or weakness; it often implies a normal quality or appetite 
   carried to excess 1: unable to find the scent and continue chase : PUZZLED  
   2: open to blame : RESPONSIBLE  : EXCESSIVELY  - at fault  SYN syn FAULT, 
   FAILING, FRAILTY, FOIBLE, VICE 
2. fault vi 1: to commit a fault : ERR  2: to fracture so as to produce a 
   geologic fault  1: to find a fault in  2: to produce a geologic fault in