Aberration - Definition and Overview

Aberration (Latin ab, from or away + errare, to wander), a deviation or wandering, especially used in the figurative sense as:

1. In ethics, a deviation from the truth.
2. In pathology, a mental derangement.
3. In zoology and botany, abnormal development or structure.
4. In optics, the word has two special applications:

4.1 Aberration of light, also referred to as astronomical aberration or stellar aberration.

4.2 Aberration in optical systems, see also the article on lenses.