péché French · revision 38626

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion|origins=la peccō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /pe.ʃe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''péché''' ''m'' (plural péchés)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|pechez]] (nominative singular, late 10th century), [[m|fro|pechet]], [[m|fro|pechié]] (12th century);^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) ''péché'' is found from the 14th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) Ménage recommended ''peché'' without the accent.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|pechié]], [[inh|la|peccātum|t=fault, error, (Christian Latin) sin]], the neuter past participle of [[m|la|peccō|t=to stumble; to err; to sin]] used as a noun.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) The sense “fault against the religious law” is a specialisation of Church Latin.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Latin verb first meant “to stumble, make a false step”, and its origin is unknown.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|păcat]], [[it|peccato]], [[oc|pecat]], [[ca|pecat]], [[es|pecado]] and [[pt|pecado]]; the Latin word also passed into [[eu|bekatu]] and [[br|pec'hed]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found as ''pechez'' in the ''Passion'' (late 10th century), meaning a fault against the divine law.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The religious sense gathered many fixed phrases: ''péché mortel'' (about 1135, ''mortex pechié''), ''péché véniel'' (about 1245), the seven deadly sins (1220–1240, ''les .VII. pechiés creminaus'', later ''pechez capitaux'' in Pomey, 1671), ''péché contre nature'' (1288), ''péché contre le Saint-Esprit'' (Calvin, 1541) and Pascal's sins of omission and commission (1656).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Péché originel'' (late 14th century) is a calque of Christian Latin ''peccatum originale'', probably coined by Saint Augustine in 397.^(DHLF 1992) Most of the others have equivalents in scholastic Latin.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ From about 1050 the word was also used in the broader Latin sense of a fault, especially a moral one, as in ''péché de jeunesse'' (1649, Corneille) and ''péché mignon'' “a small weakness” (1718).^(DHLF 1992) Old French also used it for a wrong or a misfortune suffered, and ''est pechié'' meant “it's a pity”, like [[it|peccato]].^(DHLF 1992) By metonymy it has named the sinner's state since 1306, as in ''vivre dans le péché''.^(DHLF 1992) ''Laid comme le péché'' is recorded at the end of the 17th century, in Saint-Simon.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 10th century – ''Pechez'' in the ''Passion''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1135 – ''Mortex pechié'' “mortal sin” in the ''Couronnement de Louis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1245 – ''Péché véniel''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1288 – ''Pechiés contre nature'' in ''Renart le Nouvel''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1306 – The state of sin.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Late 14th century – ''Péché originel''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1649 – ''Péché de jeunesse'' in Corneille.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1656 – Sins of omission and commission in Pascal's ''Provinciales''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1671 – ''Pechez capitaux'' in Pomey.^(TLFi)

+ * 1718 – ''Péché mignon''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(religion)'' A [[m|en|sin]]: a conscious act against the divine or religious law: ''confesser ses péchés''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi) ''Péché mortel'', ''véniel'', ''originel'', ''les sept péchés capitaux'', the seven deadly sins.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(religion)'' The state of sin: ''vivre dans le péché''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # A fault or [[m|en|weakness]], especially a slight one: ''péché de jeunesse'', a youthful error, ''péché mignon'', a small vice one indulges in.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Laid comme le péché'': very ugly.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pécher]]

+ * [[pécheur]]

+ * [[peccadille]]

+ * [[impeccable]]

+ * [[la|peccātum]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The proverb ''à tout péché miséricorde'' (“every sin can be forgiven”) is recorded by the Petit Robert.^(Petit Robert 2007) ''Péché'' is not to be confused with [[pêche]] or [[pêcher]], which have other origins.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}