Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Liable to sin; subject to sin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Liable to sin; subject to transgress the divine law.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Liable to sin; subject to transgress the divine law.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective liable to sin

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin peccare ("to sin").

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Examples

Comments

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  • I wonder whether chickens like this word?

    August 29, 2007

  • alphadictionary.com:

    Word History: Today's Good Word is built on the Latin verb peccare "to stumble, go astray, sin". The root is ped-/pod- "foot" found in such borrowings as pedal, pedestrian, podiatrist, and tripod. Apparently a suffixed form of this word similar to *ped-cos "misstep" existed at one time before the formation of Latin and this word gave rise to *pedcare "to misstep". The D in this word then predictably converted to C, leaving Latin with peccare. The meaning then moved from an actual misstep to a metaphorical moral one, "to sin". So today's Good Word has made a remarkable journey to its current form and meaning—and all on foot! (Today we thank the impeccable Susan Kappel for raising the question, "Where are peccable and ravel?")

    September 7, 2010