kings of convenience - failure

failure |ˈfālyər| noun 1 lack of success : an economic policy that is doomed to failure | the failures of his policies. • an unsuccessful person, enterprise, or thing : bad weather had resulted in crop failures. • lack of success in passing an examination or test : exam failure. • a grade that is not high enough to pass an examination or test. 2 the omission of expected or required action : their failure to comply with the basic rules. • a lack or deficiency of a desirable quality : a failure of imagination. 3 the action or state of not functioning : symptoms of heart failure | an engine failure. • a sudden cessation of power. • the collapse of a business. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.(originally as failer, in the senses [nonoccurrence] and [cessation of supply] ): from Anglo-Norman French failer for Old French faillir (see fail ).