[Stratoscope]

de·fault [dih-fawlt]

noun

1. failure to act; inaction or neglect: They lost their best client by sheer default.

2. failure to meet financial obligations.

3. Law. failure to perform an act or obligation legally required, especially to appear in court or to plead at a time assigned.

4. Sports. failure to arrive in time for, participate in, or complete a scheduled match.

5. lack; want; absence.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/default

[nviennot]

6. Computers. a value that a program or operating system assumes, or a course of action that a program or operating system will take, when the user or programmer specifies no overriding value or action.

[Stratoscope]

I should have made my purpose in posting that definition more clear, so it wouldn't sounded so much like just a snarky remark.

I had just been thinking about how we use the word "default" so differently in programming from its traditional meaning. In programming, we think of a "default value" or a "default state", and there's really no negative connotation to the word at all.

But in many other parts of life, at least with these traditional meanings, the word "default" has a much more negative meaning. I know I often forget that.

I'm sorry I didn't say something about this instead of just posting the definition.

[auxbuss]

default is also a verb. From the Oxford English dictioonary

verb

1. fail to fulfil an obligation: some had defaulted on student loans, declare (a party) in default and give judgement against that party.

2. (default to) revert automatically to (a preselected option).