Plural of defection; instances of people abandoning their country, organization, or cause to join another side.
From Latin 'defectio' (failure, falling away) plus English plural '-s.' The word developed from 'defect' (to fail) into the specific sense of political or organizational betrayal.
The word 'defections' appears constantly in Cold War history—it measured the ideological breakdown of communist bloc countries, and historians track defections like modern analysts track market share, showing how seriously people took these betrayals.
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