sin
/ˈsɪn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "As a Christian, I think this is a sin against God."
- "Slavery, according to them, was a grievous sin against God, and therefore no human Constitution could rightfully shield it from destruction. It was sinful to live in a political confederacy which tolerated slavery in any of the States composing it […]"
- "DCI Tom Barnaby: If it wasn't stealing, what was it? Christine Cooper: It was a sin, Mr Barnaby. It's not wrong to sin. Christ came into this world for the sinners. Barnaby: To call people to repentance, Mrs Cooper."
- "The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen.[…]The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man's private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared."
- "For he hath made him to be ſinne for vs, who knewe no ſinne,[…]"
- "Thy Ambition / (Thou Scarlet ſinne) robb’d this bewailing Land / Of Noble Buckingham,[…]"
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”).