sin

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun estrangement from god
  2. noun an act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will
  3. noun ratio of the length of the side opposite the given angle to the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle

Etymology

From Middle English sinne, synne, sunne, zen, from Old English synn (“sin”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnju, from Proto-Germanic *sunjō (“truth, excuse”) and *sundī, *sundijō (“sin”), from , from *h₁sónts ("being, true", implying a verdict of "truly guilty" against an accusation or charge), from *h₁es- (“to be”); compare Old English sōþ ("true"; see sooth). Doublet of suttee. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sände, Säände (“sin”), West Frisian sûnde (“sin”), German Sünde (“sin”), Luxembourgish Sënd, Sënn (“sin”), Vilamovian zynd (“sin”) Yiddish זינד (zind, “sin”), Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish synd (“sin”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰 (sunja, “truth”), Latin sont-, sons (“sinful, guilty, criminal”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

sinfulness, wickedness

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