I. ˈsin noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sinne, from Old English synn, syn; akin to Old Frisian sende sin, Old Saxon sundia, Old High German sunta, suntea and perhaps to Latin sont-, sons guilty; probably akin to Latin est is — more at is
1.
a. : a transgression of religious law : an offense against God
making her dream … of the sin which he resolved to allure her to commit — Daniel Defoe
b. : a serious offense : a violation of propriety
colleges which glorify research and publication … are guilty of a grave and perhaps irreparable sin against civilization — Millicent McIntosh
the rhetorical sin of the meaningless variation — Lewis Mumford
c. : a serious shortcoming : fault
the English sin has always been … a lack of social coherence — Herbert Read
2. : violation of religious law : disregard of God's will
thought about the nature of sin in general — H.E.Fosdick
specifically : violation of proscription of fornication
accused … of living in sin with her fiancé — Leslie Rees
— see actual sin , deadly sin , mortal sin , original sin , venial sin
II. verb
( sinned ; sinned ; sinning ; sins )
Etymology: Middle English sinnen, singen, from Old English syngian; akin to Middle Dutch sondigen to sin, Old Norse syndga; denominative from the root of English sin (I)
intransitive verb
1. : to violate religious law : commit an offense against God ; specifically : fornicate
2. : to commit an offense
critics often sinned against good critical sense — C.I.Glicksberg
transitive verb
1. : to perform sinfully
there remains so much to be sinned and suffered in the world — Nathaniel Hawthorne
2. archaic : to drive by sinning
we have sinned him hence — John Dryden
•
- sin one's mercies
III.
variant of syne
IV. ˈsēn also ˈsin noun
( -s )
Etymology: Hebrew śin
1. : the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet — symbol שׂ; see alphabet table
2. : the letter corresponding to Hebrew sin in the Phoenician or in any of various other Semitic alphabets
V. abbreviation
1. sine
2.
[Latin sinistra ]
left hand