definition of the word aberration

Coined between 1585 and 1595 from Latin aberratio^[1]: compare French aberration. See aberrate.

• IPA: /ˌæbəˈreɪʃən/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

aberration (plural aberrations)

1. The act of wandering; deviation, especially from truth or moral rectitude, from the natural state, or from a type.

   • The aberration of youth - Hall
   • Aberrations from theory - Burke

2. A partial alienation of reason.

   • Occasional aberrations of intellect - Lingard
   • Whims, which at first are the aberrations of a single brain, pass with heat into epidemic form - I. Taylor

3. (astronomy) A small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer.
4. (optics) The convergence to different foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus.
5. (physiology) A deviation of an organism from the state which is regarded as normal.
6. A mental disorder, especially one of a minor or temporary character.
7. (law) The producing of an unintended effect by the glancing of an instrument, as when a shot intended for A glances and strikes B.
8. (zoology, botany) atypical development or structure

• spherical aberration
• aberrational

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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