nonperformance
|non-per-for-mance|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑn.pɚˈfɔr.məns/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒn.pəˈfɔː.məns/
not doing what should be done / failure to perform
Etymology
'nonperformance' is formed from the negative prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') plus 'performance.' 'Performance' comes from the verb 'perform' plus the noun-forming suffix '-ance.' 'Perform' ultimately derives from elements meaning 'through/fully' and 'to do/accomplish' in older Romance languages.
'performance' developed in Middle English from Old French forms related to 'parformer/parfournir' (to carry out, accomplish) and from the verb 'perform' in early modern English; 'non-' as a negative prefix comes from Latin 'non' and was used in Old French and Middle English to negate nouns and verbs, producing the compound 'nonperformance'.
Originally 'performance' meant 'the act of carrying out or accomplishing' and has long meant 'the doing of an action'; over time the compound 'nonperformance' came to denote specifically the absence or failure of that doing (including the legal sense of failure to perform contractual duties).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the state or act of not performing or failing to fulfill an expected action or duty; a failure to perform.
The project was delayed due to the contractor's nonperformance on key milestones.
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Noun 2
in legal or contractual contexts, the breach or failure to carry out contractual obligations (often leading to remedies or damages).
The court examined whether the supplier's nonperformance constituted a material breach of the contract.
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Last updated: 2025/12/22 20:26