SIN (2)

sin (2). Sin, v.i. to transgress the laws of God, to offend

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Sin, n. [[OE. sinne, AS. synn, syn; akin to D. zonde, OS. sundia, OHG. sunta, G. sünde, Icel., Dan. & Sw. synd, L. sons, sontis, guilty, perhaps originally from the p. pr. of the verb signifying, to be, and meaning, the one who it is. Cf. Authentic, Sooth.]] 1. 1. Transgression of the law of God; disobedience of the divine command; any violation of God's will, either in purpose or conduct; moral deficiency in the character; iniquity; as, sins of omission and sins of commission.
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. John viii. 34. Sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John iii. 4. I think 't no sin. To cozen him that would unjustly win. Shak. Enthralled By sin to foul, exorbitant desires. Milton. 2. 2. An offense, in general; a violation of propriety; a misdemeanor; as, a sin against good manners.
I grant that poetry's a crying sin. Pope. 3. 3. A sin offering; a sacrifice for sin.
He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. 2 Cor. v. 21. 4. 4. An embodiment of sin; a very wicked person.
Thy ambition, Thou scarlet sin, robbed this bewailing land Of noble Buckingham. Shak. ☞ Sin is used in the formation of some compound words of obvious signification; as, sin-born; sin-bred, sin-oppressed, sin-polluted, and the like. Actual sin, Canonical sins, Original sin, Venial sin. See under Actual, Canonical, etc. — Deadly, or Mortal, sins (R. C. Ch.), willful and deliberate transgressions, which take away divine grace; — in distinction from vental sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. — Sin eater, a man who (according to a former practice in England) for a small gratuity ate a piece of bread laid on the chest of a dead person, whereby he was supposed to have taken the sins of the dead person upon himself. — Sin offering, a sacrifice for sin; something offered as an expiation for sin. Syn. — Iniquity; wickedness; wrong. See Crime.