Hypertext Webster Gateway: "defalcation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Defalcation \De`fal*ca"tion\, n. [LL. defalcatio: cf. F.
d['e]falcation.]
1. A lopping off; a diminution; abatement; deficit.
Specifically: Reduction of a claim by deducting a
counterclaim; set- off. --Abbott.
2. That which is lopped off, diminished, or abated.
3. An abstraction of money, etc., by an officer or agent
having it in trust; an embezzlement.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
defalcation
n : the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted
to your care but actually owned by someone else [syn: {embezzlement},
{peculation}, {misapplication}, {misappropriation}]
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