Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FAIL, v.t.

1. To desert; disappoint; to cease or to neglect or omit to afford aid, supply or strength. It is said, fortune never fails the brave. Our friends sometimes fail us, when we most need them. The aged attempt to walk, when their limbs fail them. In bold enterprises, courage should never fail the hero.
2. To omit; not to perform. The inventive God, who never fails his part. Dryden.
3. To be wanting to. There shall never fail thee a man on the throne. 1 Kings ii. [In the transitive use of this verb, there is really an ellipsis of from or to, or other word. In strictness, the verb is not transitive, and the passive participle is, I believe, never used.]