Where does “sinful” come from?
Sinful comes from Old English synful, derived from Old English synn, from Proto-Germanic sundijō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-, meaning to fill or be full.
sinful (English): constituting a sin; being morally or religiously...
Definitions
- constituting a sin; being morally or religiously...
Ancestry of “sinful”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | synful | Sinful; having sinned, guilty of sin |
| 2 | Old English | synful | sinful; a sinner |
| 3 | Old English | synn | sin |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sunnju | responsibility; care; concern; worry; anxiety |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sunjō | truth, sooth; denial, protest |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁s-ónt-ih₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁sónts | active participle of *h₁ésti; being, existence;... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ēs- | to be |