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fall / fals / fail

to deceive

Latin · fallere / falsus

fall / fals / fail root meaning picture

Latin fallere 'to deceive, disappoint', past form falsus. It gives fals- (false, falsify), fail (to disappoint expectations) and fall- (fallacy, a deceiving idea; fallible, able to be wrong).

Memory trick

A FALSE friend deceives you; a plan can FAIL when it deceives your hopes.

Words from this root