delinquency

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

DELINQUENCY, noun [Latin To fail or omit duty; to leave.] Failure or omission of duty; a fault; a misdeed; and positively, an offense; a crime. It is particularly, but not exclusively applied to neglect of duty in officers of public trust.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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