A deviation or divergence from a standard or path; a gap or separation between things.
From French écart, meaning 'divergence' or 'gap', derived from Old French escarter (to set apart). The French root is from Latin ex- (out) + quartus or related to cart (to move aside). This term appears in medieval French texts.
The French borrowed this word to describe gaps between dancers, roads, and ideas—and English imported it for the poetic feeling of something that's wandered away from where it should be!
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