sin English · revision 5770

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 825}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sinne]], [[inh|ang|synn|t=wrongdoing, offence, misdeed]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*sundjō]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) which also gave Old Frisian sende, Old Saxon sundia, Dutch zonde, German Sünde and Old Norse synd.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is probably related to [[la|sōns|t=guilty]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) which Barnhart explains as a specialized use of the old present participle of [[m|la|esse|t=to be]];^(Barnhart 1988) according to Watkins, as cited in Etymonline, the notion was “it is true”, that is “the guilt is real”, from PIE *es-ont-, the participle of [[ine-pro|*es-|t=to be]] (compare [[sooth]]).^(Etymonline) The verb is from Old English syngian, from the same source as the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An act that breaks divine law, and wrongdoing in general: about 825 in the OED, before 830 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English synn also meant injury, enmity and guilt.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A pity or shame (“it's a sin”) is from about 1300 and is still colloquial, especially in Scotland.^(OED 1989) A breach of a standard of taste or propriety is from 1780.^(OED 1989) ''Ugly as sin'' and similar phrases date from the early 17th century.^(OED 1989) ''Sin-eater'', one paid to take on a dead person's sins by eating food over the corpse, is from the 1680s,^(Etymonline) and ''to live in sin'', to live together unmarried, from 1838.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Shetland and other Scots dialects sin also meant blame.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – sin, the noun and the verb.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – a pity or shame.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1680s – ''sin-eater''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1780 – a breach of taste.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1838 – ''to live in sin''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act that breaks a religious or [[moral]] law, especially on purpose.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(theology)'' Disobedience to the known will of [[God]], or the state of separation from God that results.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something thought shameful, wasteful or foolish: ''it's a sin to waste it''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To commit a sin; to do wrong.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sinlike]]

+ * [[sinningly]]

+ * [[sinningness]]

+ * [[sinful]]

+ * [[sinless]]

+ * [[outsin]]

+ * [[sinner]]

+ * [[actual sin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sooth]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Sin is also the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from Hebrew śin, recorded about 1823,^(MWU 2024)^(AHD) and the standard abbreviation of [[sine]] in trigonometry, pronounced /saɪn/.^(SOED 2002)^(Roach et al. 2011) The Scots and northern sin “since” is a contraction of [[sithen]].^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}