/los' *j/ The result of a bug or malfunction. This is a mass or collective noun. "What a loss!" and "What lossage!" are nearlY sYnonYmous. The former is slightlY more particular to the speaker' s present circumstances the latter implies a continuing lose of which the speaker is currentlY a victim. Thus (for example) a temporarY hardware failure is a loss, but bugs in an important tool (like a compiler) are serious lossage. [Jargon File] (1995-04-19)