Origin of Failure

June 13, 2018 by John Andrew Williams

The word failure comes from an old French word meaning non-occurrence. It’s surprisingly close to the Latin word for failure deficere, which shares the same root as the word perfect. The prefix de- means away from; the prefix per- means through. Both words carry the same root to make.

When looking at the difference between making something away from your idea versus completing the idea, what shifts in your perspective on failure versus success?