Peccancy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛkənsi/

Definitions

1. The condition of having faults, errors, or moral failings
2. A state characterized by imperfection or wrongdoing
3. The quality of committing sins or making mistakes

Etymology: Peccancy comes from a Latin verb meaning "to sin," peccō, whose present participle peccāns ("sinning") gave rise to the post-classical Latin noun peccantia. The English word therefore carries the same moral charge as its ancestor: it names the condition of being guilty of wrongdoing, not the act itself. The word arrived in English by way of that medieval Latin noun, and it has always leaned toward the formal and legal end of the vocabulary. Its close relatives in English include "peccant," the adjective for something that is sinful or faulty, and the older "peccable," meaning liable to sin, which show the same root working in different parts of speech.

Synonyms: sinfulness, wrongdoing

Antonyms: virtue, goodness