err

 
Pronunciation: /əː/

verb

[no object] formal
  • be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake: the judge had erred in ruling that the evidence was inadmissible
  • (often as adjective erring) sin; do wrong: he had been as solicitous as an erring husband

Phrases

err on the right side

act so that the least harmful of possible mistakes or errors is the most likely to occur: last year’s boom was the result of a miscalculation, which erred on the right side

err on the side of

display more rather than less of (a specified quality) in one’s actions: it is better to err on the side of caution

to err is human, to forgive divine

proverb it is human nature to make mistakes oneself while finding it hard to forgive others.

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'wander, go astray'): from Old French errer, from Latin errare 'to stray'