| 释义 |
▪ I. sin, n.|sɪn|
Forms: α. 1 syn(n, 1–2 synne, 2–5 sunne (3 sune). β. 1–4 senne (4 zenne, 5 senn), 3 seonne (4 sene). γ. 2–7 sinne (3–4 sine), 4–6 synne (5 cynne, 5–6 syne), syn (6 synn), 4– sin (4 sinn).
[OE. syn(n, for original *sunjō, related to continental forms with extended stem, viz. OFris. sende, MDu. sonde (Du. zonde), OS. sundea, sundia, OHG. sunt(e)a, sund(e)a (G. sünde), ON. synð, synd (Icel., Norw., Sw., Da. synd). The stem may be related to that of L. sons, sont-is guilty. In OE. there are examples of the original general sense, ‘offence, wrong-doing, misdeed’.]
1. a. An act which is regarded as a transgression of the divine law and an offence against God; a violation (esp. wilful or deliberate) of some religious or moral principle.
The expression for my sins (see quot. 1842) is freq. employed in a trivial or jocular way. For the seven deadly sins see deadly a. 5.
αc825Vesp. Psalter cviii. 14 Syn modur his ne sie adilᵹad. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiv. §3 Þæt is swiðe dyslic & swiðe micel syn þæt mon þæs wenan scyle be Gode. 971Blickl. Hom. 25 Ure dæghwamlican synna þe we wið Godes willan ᵹeworht habbaþ. Ibid. 63 Maniᵹe men wenaþ þæt morþor sy seo mæste synne. c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1066, Þa Frencyscan ahton wælstowe ᵹeweald, eall swa heom God uðe for folces synnon. a1122Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1086, Se ælmihtiᵹa God..do him his synna forᵹifenesse. c1175Lamb. Hom. 35 Vfel is þet mon..nule him biþenchen þet his sunnen waxað. 12..Prayer our Lady 31 in O.E. Misc. 193 Ich habbe..wel feole sunne ido þe me ofþincheð nuðe. a1250Owl & Night. 1395 Ne beoþ noht ones alle sunne, Vor þan hi beoþ tweire ikunne. c1300Harrow. Hell 12 (Digby MS.), In helle was..Dauit þe prophete and abraham, For þe sunnes of adam. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 69 Heore seed for þat sunne þe same wo drien.
β971Blickl. Hom. 43 Hie wenaþ þæt he heora senna alysan mæᵹe. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 11 Ðe werc of þesternesse, þat ben alle heuie sennen. 12..Prayer our Lady 5 in O.E. Misc. 192 Ich eom i-bunde sore mid wel feole seonne. c1315Shoreham iii. 268 Þe dede ydo in lechery Hys ryȝt a dedleche senne. 1340Ayenb. 15 Þe zeue heauedes of þe beste of helle byeþ þe zeuen hauedliche zennes. 1390Gower Conf. III. 224 The comun poeple..hath the kinges Senne aboght, Al thogh the poeple agulte noght.
γ1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, Suilc & mare..we þolenden xix wintre for ure sinnes. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 7 Sainte Powel..sagh..þat hem likede here loðliche sinnes. c1250Gen. & Ex. 553 So cam on werlde wreche and wrake for to blissen swilc sinnes same. a1300Cursor M. 14010 Sco wepe hir sinnes sare. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 108 Þes two beþ synnus of þe flesche. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) II. 480 All thy dayes [thou] hast lyuyd in multeplyyng of synnes & vices. 1524Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 14 Plenary remission of their synnes. 1594Greene & Lodge Looking Gl. F j b, And sir I pray you, what greater sinne is then iealousie? 1628J. Doughty Serm. Church-schismes (1628) 4 Austin..chargith them with no lesse a sinne, then with that of the holy ghost. 1676Owen Serm. Wks. 1851 IX. 325 As some men's sins grow very high, other men's graces grow very low. 1727De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 111 Making her dream..of the sin which he resolved to allure her to commit. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xiv, ‘My mistress has committed some great sin, truly,’ said the servant. 1808Lady Lyttelton Let. 9 May (1912) 11 Now, would not you have thought he was a partisan of boxing? I did for my sins. 1842Borrow Bible in Spain xi, At present, for my sins, I live in a village of the plain. 1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xxviii, She felt like one who has ‘Sinned a great Sin’. 1906R. Brooke Let. 1 Apr. (1968) 47 About a year ago I got, for my sins, into the top form of the school. 1961I. Murdoch Severed Head v. 44 Rosemary..is for her sins a Mrs Michelis, having got married young.., to a dislikeable stockbroker called Bill Michelis, who subsequently left her. 1973Times 2 Nov. 23/3 Take the BSA case in which, for my sins and much against my will, I was concerned.
b. transf. A violation of some standard of taste or propriety.
1780Mirror No. 92 All those sins against nature and simplicity, which artists of inferior merit are glad to practise. 1907P. Dare From School to Stage viii. 146 The many literary sins I know I must have committed.
2. a. Without article or pl. Violation of divine law; action or conduct characterized by this; a state of transgression against God or His commands.
original sin: see original a. 1 b.
c825Vesp. Psalter cviii. 7 Ᵹebed his sie in synne. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John viii. 34 Eᵹhuelc seðe wyrcas synn, ðræl is synnes. a1050Liber Scintill. (1889) 230 Mæniᵹe lif butan leahtre habban maᵹon, butan synne hi na maᵹon. a1175Cott. Hom. 227 Heo was buton senne acenned and his lif was all buton synne. a1225Leg. Kath. 91 Ha wes offearet of scheome & of sunne. c1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 28 So us defendet þo ilke þinges fram senne. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3485 More pryde, no more synne, Þan skorne god, mayst þou falle ynne. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2357 Here may men se..How foul es syn and how fylande. c1400Rom. Rose 5078 Trowe not that I wolde hem twynne, Whanne in her love ther is no synne. c1470Henry Wallace iii. 323 Bot thou do so, forsuth thou dois gret syne. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 60 This lesson must not so curiously bee kept, as though it were sinne to make the deuision of fower, or fiue partes. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 177, I that am honest, I that hold it sinne To breake the vow I am ingaged in. 1631High Commission Cases (Camden) 210 Such as will lye in sinne and goe on without repentance. 1681Dryden Abs. & Achit. 613 Because 'tis sin to misemploy an hour. 1758S. Hayward Serm. i. 4 We are all under the guilt of Sin. 1773Mrs. Chapone Improv. Mind (1774) II. 14 It is your part to retire from such an occasion of sin. 1807–8Wordsw. Eccl. Sonn. ii. xxv, Mother! whose virgin bosom was uncrost With the least shade of thought to sin allied. 1842Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 120 A sinful man, conceived and born in sin. 1876Mozley Univ. Serm. ii. 32 Old Jewish sin was heathen sin—it was open.
b. Personified.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 882 In thy shady cell..Sits Sin, to seize the souls that wander by him. 1632R. Bernard Isle of Man 5 Thus we see what an ungrateful Villaine Sin is to his best friends. 1667Milton P.L. x. 230 Meanwhile.., Within the Gates of Hell sate Sin and Death. 1818Shelley Eugan. Hills 249 Sin smiled so as Sin only can. 1842Tennyson Love & Duty 8 Shall..Sin itself be found The cloudy porch oft opening on the Sun?
c. In phrases child, or man, of sin; as black, or ugly, as sin. Also like (or worse than) sin: vehemently, intensely, vigorously. Cf. like the devil s.v. devil n. 16.
1610Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 53 You are three men of sinne. 1821Scott Kenilw. x, Though I am as ugly as sin, I would not have you think me an ass. 1827― Chron. Canongate iv, They..bowed civilly if folk took aff their bannets as they gaed by, and lookit as black as sin at them that keepit them on. 1840T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 3rd Ser. viii. 102 Who the plague can live on sugar-candy? I am sure I couldn't. Nothin' does for me like honey; arter a while I get to hate it like sin. 1842Tennyson Vision of Sin 5 From the palace came a child of sin. 1868‘Mark Twain’ Let. 8 Jan. (1917) I. 143, I have been working like sin all night to get a lecture written. 1929W. Scott Mask i. 16 By the way, Father, dear—who is it that Peter Marlin hates worse than sin?
d. to live in sin: to cohabit outside marriage.
1838Ann. Rep. Bath City Mission in G. R. Taylor Angel-Makers (1958) 67 Front attic, two aged people living in sin. 1855C. Kingsley Westw. Ho! II. vii. 213 Why, not..to know whether..she's married to him or not..and I not to know whether she's living in sin or not, Mr. William. 1925A. P. Herbert Laughing Ann 92 Don't tell my mother I'm living in sin. 1974R. B. Parker Godwulf Manuscript vii. 56 A couple of freaky kids living in what my aunt used to call sin.
3. a. A pity; a shame.
Still in colloquial use, esp. in Sc. See also Sc. Nat. Dict.
c1300Havelok 1976 It is hof him mikel sinne; He maden him swilke woundes þrinne. c1470Henry Wallace v. 501 ‘To dede in Forth he may for vs be brocht.’ Lord Persye said, ‘Now suthlye that war syne’. 1831C. Darwin Let. 6 Sept. in F. Darwin Life (1887) I. v. 207 He takes out twenty chronometers, and it will be a ‘sin’ not to settle the longitude.
†b. A fear of doing wrong. Obs. rare.
c1300Havelok 2375 Þat he ne sholde neuere blinne, Ne for loue, ne for sinne, Til þat he haueden Godard funde. c1470Henry Wallace viii. 518 To byrn and sla off thaim he had na syne.
4. Comb.
a. With pa. pples., chiefly in instrumental use, but sometimes denoting ‘in sin’ or ‘from sin’, as sin-absolved, sin-born, sin-burthened, sin-clouded, sin-crushed, sin-drowned, etc.
Combs. of this type are extremely common from about 1590 to 1670, and again from about 1850.
1563B. Googe Eglogs viii. (Arb.) 68 With gredy mouth he alwayes feeds vpon the Syndrownd soule. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 832 Christ, who, sin-thrall'd man to free, Became a captive. 1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 137 Farewell sinne sowed flesh. Ibid. 161 This triple headed Pope with all his sin-absolued whoores. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche xiii. ccxv, The Curse which Heav'n injoin'd to grow On Sin-condemned Earth. 1667Milton P.L. x. 596 Whom thus the Sin-born Monster answerd soon. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace ix. 188 What joy must it be to a sin-burthened soul to hear the voice of pardon. 1792R. Cumberland Calvary (1803) II. 49 That sacred flesh, whose bleeding stripes Heal'd our sin-wounded souls. 1843J. G. Whittier Hum. Sacrifice in Lays of my Home 475 Oh! Never yet upon the scroll Of the sin-stained, but priceless soul, Hath Heaven inscribed ‘Despair!’ 1849J. C. Hare Par. Serm. II. 98 The inmost Desire of his own sin-crusht soul. 1868J. H. Newman Verses Var. Occas. 253 While song is hushed..In the sin-laden air. 1882H. S. Holland Logic & Life (1885) 187 The borders..of this sin-clouded sky. 1896E. Dowson Let. May (1967) 363 Except that I want to see your classically sin-stained countenance, I should not even think of a week in Paris.
b. With pres. pples. and vbl. ns. in objective use, as sin-afflicting, † sin-beeting, -chastising, sin concealing, sin-doing, etc. Also instrumental, as sin-soiling (see 4 e).
This type is common in the 17th and 19th centuries.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 121 Ich com to..understonden þo sinbetende on rihtwisnesse. c1440Alph. Tales 3 Not alonelie for hur syn-doyng..sho was sparred in a cloce cell iij yere. 1493Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 148 They be in greete peryll that breke the feest..in synnedoynge. 1592Nashe P. Penilesse Wks. (Grosart) II. 44 Wise was that sin-washing Poet that made the Ballet of Blue starch and poaking stick. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 767 O comfort-killing Night,..Vast sin-concealing chaos! 1611J. Davies (Heref.) Sco. Folly ccxviii, Thy scourge of Vice, thy sinne-afflicting Muse. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace xxviii. 492 Earnest desires of our souls to God in prayer..for sin-mortifying grace. 1738Wesley Ps. lxxx. 20 The Sin-consuming Virtue. 1774J. Edwards Hist. Redemption (1793) I. iv. 85 If they came to such a dreadful sin-revenging God immediately they should die. 1819Shelley Cenci iv. ii. 32 His death will be But as a change of sin-chastising dreams. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 18 Very beautiful to devils must be the sin-loving soul.
c. With agent-nouns, in objective use, as sin-absolver, sin-discerner, sin-forgiver, etc.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. iii. 50 Being a Diuine, a Ghostly Confessor, A Sin-Absoluer. a1716Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 88 One that makes Sin, We might render it a Sin⁓maker. 1839J. Rogers Antipapopr. xv. §1. 312 A huge, disciplined, active army:..not of sinopposers, but of slave⁓makers. 1849J. A. Carlyle Dante's Inf. 48 That sin⁓discerner sees what place in Hell is for it. 1870W. Graham Lect. Ephesians vi. 137 The character of the sin-forgiver should not degenerate into the sin-indulger.
d. With adjs., as sin-black, sin-dark, sin-guilty, sin-like, sin-proud.
1594Nashe Terrors of Night Wks. (Grosart) III. 220 The diuell keepeth his audit in our sin-guilty consciences. 1614Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue 197 Thou couldst not cleanse These Sin-proud shining Halls. 1617A. Newman Pleas. Vis. 22 The stately Court,..whose sin-like hew Dazles the Eyes of euery Wight. 1812Shelley Devil's Walk xxii, Cormorants are sin-like lean, Although they eat from night to morn. 1855Bailey Mystic 29 With sin-black hills engirthed. a1915Joyce Giacomo Joyce (1968) 10 She stands beside me, pale and chill, clothed with the shadows of the sindark nave.
e. With vbs., in the sense ‘by sin’, as sin-eclipse, sin-merit.
1593Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 214 Our soules they keepe not from sinne-soyling, but are the onely instruments, so to soile and sinne-eclipse them. Ibid. 257 To make vs more wary of sinne-meriting it.
5. attrib., as sin-bane, sin custom-house, sin-entanglement, sin-gluttony, sin-guilt, sin-guiltiness, etc.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. i. Vocation 100 Sucking the *Sin-bane of Assyrian ayre.
1673Egane (title), The Book of Rates now used in the *Sin Custom-House of the Church of Rome.
1668J. Owen Expos. Ps. cxxx. Wks. 1851 VI. 381, I who am in the depths of *sin-entanglements.
1593Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 79 [To] kill the body & the soule both of her vnbounded *sinne-gluttonie.
1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 227 He.., by a *sin-guilt, hath transgressed a law.
1650Trapp Comm. Exod. xx. 17 That the people might..bee admonished of their *sin-guiltiness.
1861Reade Cloister & H. lxvii, The pair were driving a bargain in the *Sin market.
1850Lynch Theoph. Trinal x. 201 The *sin-miasma from the evil will of a man.
1650T. Hubbert Pill Formality 14 A form of godliness without the power of it, may well be called the devils *Sin-Mould.
1535Coverdale Zech. xiv. 18 This shalbe the *synneplage of Egipte and the synneplage of all people.
1624Gataker Transubst. 202 Nor was there ever any *sinne-sacrifice without blood-shead.
1824Southey Sir T. More (1831) I. 327 The *sin-score was settled with St. Kentigern in the regular way.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. ii. Imposture 562 The farther this foule *sin-spring flowes, It still more muddy and more filthy growes.
1615R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 154 True, I was blind, when thy *sin-Syren voice Made me despise my selfe.
6. Special combs.: sin-bin slang (chiefly N. Amer.) = penalty box (a) s.v. penalty n. 5; also transf.; † sin-boot, repentance, penance; sin bosun Naval slang, a ship's chaplain; sin-buster U.S. slang, an evangelist; a clergyman; sin city slang, a title applied jocularly or otherwise to a city considered to be a place of vice; sin-eater, one hired to take upon himself the sins of a deceased person by means of food eaten beside the dead body; so sin-eating; sin-flood [after G. sündflut, an alteration of OHG. sin-vluot general flood], the Deluge; † sin-money money brought as an offering in expiation of sin; sin-rent, a payment made to obtain absolution for sins; sin-shifter slang, a clergyman; † sin-wood, mad with sin.
1950Amer. Speech XXV. 104/2 *Sin bin, the penalty box where hockey players are sent for a few moments for infraction of rules, etc. 1958Herald Tribune (Grand Prairie, Alberta) 11 Mar. 5/3 [The] game saw 37 minutes spent in the sin-bin. 1973Times 10 Dec. 8/2 This game showed that it would be worth while trying the ice-hockey system of on-the-spot discipline with a ‘sin-bin’ to allow players to cool down. 1982Daily Tel. 25 Feb. 19/5 It often took several months for an infant who has created chaos to be removed to a special school or a ‘sin bin’.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 135 Alle weldede beoð freomfulle to *sun-bote. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 137 Ure drihten him bed fulcnen on watere to synbote.
1948Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 170 *Sin boson [sic], the, the Chaplain, R.N. (Lower-deck.) 1964Navy News Dec. (H.M.S. Royal Arthur Suppl.) 1/2 Well, at least the Sin Bosun doesn't seem too old, and did you see him get all punchy during deck-hockey yesterday?
1931L. Cochran Flood Tides vi. 56 ‘The Reverend Billy Swinnerton is to conduct a revival here.’.. ‘Not that ole *sin-buster?’
1973Guardian 17 Oct. 15/3 Leicester people..saw Nottingham as a sort of *sin city because people there went to the pub at night. 1975‘A. Thackeray’ One Way Ticket ii. 95 What's going to happen in Chicago?.. All you want to do is run amok in ‘Sin City’.
1686–7Aubrey Gentilisme, etc. (1881) 35 A Loafe of bread was brought out, and delivered to the *Sinne-eater over the corps. 1860Murray's Handbk. S. Wales Introd. 26 The superstition of the Sin-Eater is said to linger even now in the secluded vale of Cwm Amman.
1832Hone Year Bk. 19 July 858 An usage called *sin-eating undoubtedly arose in catholic times.
1550Coverdale Spir. Perle xxiv. (1560) 232 When as the whole worlde beside were destroyed with the *sinne flood. 1892J. Lucas tr. Kalm's England 408 Whether all these strata came into their present shape at the sin-flood..I leave others to divine.
1611Bible 2 Kings xii. 16 The trespasse money, and *sinne-money was not brought into the house of the Lord.
1899Trevelyan Age Wycliffe 142 Wycliffe's position about pardons, *sin-rents, and the abuse of the confessional.
a1912‘T. Collins’ Rigby's Romance (1946) 187 ‘Not a proper *sin shifter,’ objected Dixon. ‘You can't chris'n a kid, nor yet say the (adj.) words over people.’ 1919W. H. Downing Digger Dialects 45 Sin-shifter, an army chaplain. 1966‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse II. 98 Sin-shifter, a parson, priest, or rabbi.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1073 Ðat folc vnseli, *sinne wod,..wulden him ðor gret strengðe don.
▸ sin tax n. orig. U.S. a tax levied on a substance or activity traditionally regarded as a luxury and (esp. when in excess) as sinful or frivolous, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc.
[1901N.Y. Times 8 Dec. sm8 A society in Yonkers composed of young women fines its members 10 cents for each ungrammatical or slang expression used during social or other sessions. ‘My sin tax!’ said one young lady as she paid her fine.] 1957N.Y. Times 7 Apr. 62 Much of New Hampshire's revenue comes from what former Gov. Sherman Adams first referred to as ‘*sin taxes’. In addition to horse racing, they include liquor and tobacco. 1988Atlantic Insight Jan. 44/1 Fag-suckers are among the most public-spirited of folk,..paying an enormous sin-tax to underwrite the pensions of those who will live to a healthy and sanctimonious old age. 1996Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 July 1/1 The State Government has deferred ‘sin tax’ increases..while it decides whether departmental spending can be slashed.
▪ II. sin, v.|sɪn|
Forms: α. 1 syngian (synngiᵹa, -eᵹa), 3–4 sungen; 1 singian, 3 singen, 4 syngen. β. 2–3 sunegen (2 -eghen, 3 -egi), 3 sinegen, sinigen, synegen, 4 synegy, senegen. γ. 3 suneȝen, sineȝen (sinnȝhen), 4 sen(ne)ȝen, zeneȝi, synewi, sinie. δ. 3, 5 sunne, 5 senne; 4–7 sinne, 4– sin; 4–6 synne (5 synnyn, cynnyn), 5 syn(e.
[OE. syngian:—*sunigôjan, f. *sunjō, OE. syn(n sin n.; cf. Du. zondigen, G. sündigen, ON. syndgask refl. (Icel. syndga). This is normally represented in ME. by süngen, singen (cf. ming v.), but in early ME. the types sünigen and süniȝen also appear. The shorter sünnen, sinnen are probably due to the influence of the n., with which the vb. finally became identical in form.]
1. intr. To commit sin; to do a sinful act.
αc825Vesp. Ps. iv. 5 Eorsiað & nyllað syngian. c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xvii. 109 Is ðearf ðæt hie ᵹedon..ðæt hie ne durren syngian. c1000ælfric Numbers xxii. 34 Balaam cwæð, Ic singie nitende. a1200Moral Ode 258 Þer inne boð..þo þe sungede muchel a drunke and an ete. a1225Ancr. R. 420 note, Ancren, sume sungið in hare wim[p]lunge na lesse þene lefdi. c1250Gen. & Ex. 172 God saȝ bi-fore quat after cam, ðat singen sulde firme adam. c1320Cast. Love 1381 Þorw Adam we sungeden furst vchon. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 165 Þat..preyers don sauen Soules þat han sunget seuen siþes dedlich. 1393Ibid. C. i. 109 Hure syre sauh hem syngen and soffrede hem don ille.
βc1175Lamb. Hom. 19 Ȝif we suneged, we hit sculen beote. c1250Owl & Night. 928 Ich wisse men myd myne songe, Þat hi ne sunegi nowiht longe. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 44/336 Þe menbre þov most keruen of ȝware-withþ þou i-sunegut hast. c1340Nominale (Skeat) 384 Homme suette et pecche, M[an] wischith and senegith. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xv. 112 He þat knoweþ cleregie can sonnere a-ryse Out of synne, and be saf þow he synegy ofte.
γc1200Ormin 3970 Þatt illke mann ne sinnȝheþþ nohht. 12..Prayer our Lady 29 in O.E. Misc. 193 Ifurn ich habbe isuneȝet mid wurken & midd muðe. c1310St. Edmund 450 in E.E.P. (1862) 83 If y ne wende synewi dedliche, y nolde neuere hit do. 1315Shoreham vii. 874 Þo man senneȝed in paradys, Al chaungede þat flesch a-mys. 1340Ayenb. 20 Ine þri maneris me may zeneȝi be þise zenne. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 15 Soþeliche he syneweþ nat þat so wynneþ hus fode.
δa1300Cursor M. 7955 ‘Sinned i haf,’ coth dauid þan. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 339 Adam first gan synne, did þat God forbede. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 194 He syneth not, but whoso asketh I-styrryd with concupiscens..senneth venialy. 1426Audelay XI Pains of Hell 21 Hengyng..Sum be þe membirs of here body, Þat þai han sunnyd with in herthe leuand. 1530Palsgr. 718/2, I have synned in glotonny to night, I have stolne a horse. 1569Rogers Glasse Godly Love 186 Wee dailie and hourely continually sinne. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. ii. 163 The Tempter, or the Tempted, who sins most? 1688Dryden Brit. Red. 285 Thus Israel sinned, impenitently hard. 1714R. Fiddes Pract. Disc. ii. 237 A man may..deceive him⁓self, and sin on with the hopes of an after-repentance. 1825Lytton Falkland 119 Do not tell me that I sin, when I..nurse the delirium [etc.]. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 610 That he sinn'd is not believable.
b. Const. against († in, to, with, etc.).
c825Vesp. Psalter cxviii. 11 In heortan minre ic ahydde ᵹespreocu ðin, ðæt ic ne syngie ðe [L. tibi]. c893K. ælfred Oros. vi. x. 264 Þa sæde him hiora an..þæt he..miclum on þæm syngade. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 15 Ᵹyf þin broþor syngað wið þe. 13..Cursor M. 2986 (Gött.), Fra touche of hir i saued þe, Þat þu suld noght sinne in me. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 313 Ȝif þin brother synneþ in þee, þou shalt snybbe hym. 1414Brampton Penit. Ps. (Percy Soc.) 22, I have synned to the alone, And forfetyd ofte before thi syȝt. 1535Coverdale Gen. xxxix. 9 How shulde I then do so greate euell, and synne agaynst God? 1605Shakes. Lear iii. ii. 59, I am a man, More sinn'd against, then sinning. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxix. 169 He that is subject to no Civill Law, sinneth in all he does against his Conscience. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 130 Who but wishes to invert the laws Of Order, sins against th' Eternal Cause. 1772Junius Lett. lxviii. (1788) 343 Your conscience already tells you, that you have sinned against knowledge. 1841Trench Parables (1877) 408 Strictly speaking, we can sin only against God. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xxxii, I think I have never sinned against her.
c. spec. To commit fornication or adultery with (or † on) one.
a1225Ancr. R. 56 Bersabee..makede him sunegen on hire, so holi king ase he was. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 262/46 To alle þat with hire sunegy wolde euere redi heo was. 1375Cursor M. 26261 (Fairf.), Þou prest take kepe þou synne noȝt wiþ þine awen shepe. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 143 Ȝif I seie eny of ȝoure ordre synne wiþ a womman, I wolde helye hym wiþ myn mantel. c1440Gesta Rom. 140 (Add. MS.), Whan he hadde synned with her, he had her more in hate than he before loved her. 1530Palsgr. 719/1 All sortes of lecherye be naught, but specially to synne with a wedded woman. 1859Tennyson Elaine 248 Another sinning on such heights with one, The flower of all the west and all the world, Had been the sleeker for it.
d. To offend against some principle, standard, etc.; to be faulty or wrong.
a1704T. Brown Wks. (1711) IV. 99 This Government..sins against the Spirit of the Revolution. 1822Byron Juan vi. lii, The most regulated charms of feature, Which painters cannot catch like faces sinning Against proportion. 1861Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. v. 74 Our English system sins against all these canons, and sins grievously. 1888Nation (N.Y.) 6 Dec. 464/2 Quite cleverly painted, and sinning chiefly by excessive prettiness.
2. trans.
a. To do, perform, or perpetrate sinfully; to commit (a sin).
c1315Shoreham i. 136 Al þat he heþ iseneged her..Eliinge brengeþ hit to nouȝte.
1682Southerne Loyal Brother iv. ii, Gifted rogues, That..Sin or unsin rebellion to the crowd. 1823Praed Troubadour i. 80 He sinned few crimes, loved many times. 1859Hawthorne Marb. Faun xi, While there remains so much to be sinned and suffered in the world. 1879J. Hawthorne Laughing Mill, etc. 81 In the end the sin was sinned.
b. to sin one's mercies, to be ungrateful for one's blessings or good fortune.
1824Scott Redgauntlet let. i, I know your good father would term this sinning my mercies. 1849Mrs. Oliphant Marg. Maitland I. viii. 244 Surely, Mr. Allan,..it would be sinning your mercies. 1891Sat. Rev. 14 Mar. 328/1 Without wishing in any way to sin our mercies.
c. to sin one's soul, to incur the guilt of sin. dial.
1894–in Eng. Dial. Dict.
3. With preps. and advs.a. To bring (oneself) into a state, or beyond something, by sinning.
1665Walton Life Hooker 37 These had sinned them⁓selves into a belief that there was no God. 1680C. Nesse Ch. Hist. 191 They had sinned themselves beyond the reach of all remedies. a1716South Serm. (1823) I. 170 Few consider what a degree of sottishness and confirmed ignorance men may sin themselves into.
b. To drive or force away (also hence) by sinning.
1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. (1900) 164, I have sinned away your Father, and he is gone. 1688Dryden Brit. Rediv. 292 For we have sinned him hence. 1694Providences of God 84 The Lord grant we may not sin away our Mercies. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 207 Souls which have sinned away the grace of God and are beyond its reach.
c. (See quots.)
1652Loveday tr. Calprenède's Cleopatra Ded. A 2, At such times as your silent Authority gave me leave to want better imployment, this trifle was Sinn'd into English [from French]. 1777Fletcher Bible Calvinism Wks. 1795 IV. 241 The basest and vilest of men who have not yet sinned out their day of salvation.
▪ III. sin
Sc. variant of sun.
▪ IV. sin, adv., prep., and conj. Now Sc. and north. dial.|sɪn|
Also 4–6 (9) syn, 8–9 sin', 8 sun; 4 sine, 6 syne; 5–6 synne, 6–7 sinne.
[Contracted form of sithen: cf. sen, syne, and since. In later use freq. written sin', as if an abbreviation of since.
The common early spelling syn, and the rare sine, syne, do not indicate a long vowel.]
A. adv.
1. Then, thereupon; thereafter, afterwards, subsequently.
Frequent in Caxton.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 290 Alwey on dragon hem kepte; Syn were þey stolen þe while he slepte. 13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 218 Haþeles hyȝed in haste with ores ful longe, Syn her sayl was hem aslypped on sydez to rowe. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) I. 92 He hath putte hym self in armes wyth oute my knowleche And syn sendeth for me. c1489― Sonnes of Aymon ii. 64 Theyr moder..ranne for to kysse theym..and sin asked what thei had doon of theyr fader. c1500Melusine 245 He toke by force of armes the Erle of Fyerbourgh and syn passed in Austeryche.
2. From that time onwards.
1405Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 178 He hathe ocupyde the lond evyr syn. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop v. x, Yf euylle is syn happed to me it is wel bestowed. 1485Rolls of Parlt. VI. 339/1 The first day of this present Parlement or at any tyme syn. 1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., I sa him last Jamsmas and I hennot sin him sin. 1886S.W. Linc. Gloss. 131 He's never addled owt sin.
3. Ago; before now. Also long sin, for a long time before (quot. 1596).
1490Caxton Eneydos xii. 44 The bodyes longe syn destroyed & conuerted in-to poulder. 1530Hickscorner in Hazl. Dodsley I. 175 Devotion is gone many days sin. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. xi. 44 Knowing his voice although not heard long sin, She sudden was reuiued therewithall. 1796R. Walker Plebian Pol. (1801) 32 Boh this war ov eawars wud hah bin ore monyoah yeor sun. 1869Lonsdale Gloss. 74/2 It's a gud lang time sin. 1886S.W. Linc. Gloss. 78, I heard the bell knoll a piece sin.
B. prep. From, after; subsequent to.
a1300Cursor M. 5670 Sin quen was þou vr dempster? Ibid. 13651 Ne it i-wiss was neuer herd Sin þe biginning o þe werld. 1455in Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 5 The King is wel amended,..and hath ben syn Cristemes⁓day. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 225 Never sin that tyme was no kyng crowned in gascoyn. c1500Melusine 102 My lady syn your departyng hath doo made..this toun. 1788W. H. Marshall Yorksh. II. 352, I have not seen him sin Tuesday. 1818Scott Rob Roy xix, Things were strangely changed..sin' the sad and sorrowfu' Union. 1886in Cheshire Gloss.
C. conj.
1. From or since the time that. † Also rarely with that.
a1300Cursor M. 9323 For sin þat we war born in werld Sua selcut sagh we neuer herd. 13..Ibid. 22192 (Edinb.), A soru suilc was neuir are, Sin man was made..And sine þe werde it firste bigan. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 229 (Fairf.), The fresshest syn the worlde was first bygonne. 1405Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 178 He owyth my mastyr ffor the londe that the sayd Roper had syn he deyde ffor hys wyffe. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxi. 212 Shew me where ye haue ben syn I saw you. 1534More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1192/2 It neuer hath had any sample lyke, sinne the world began vnto now. a1536Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 52 Owr kynde ys frayle,..& ever hath bene syne we knew vs. 1785Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xii, It's e'en a lang, lang time indeed Sin' I began to nick the thread. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede iv, Adam's niver touched a bit o' victual sin' home he's come.
2. Seeing or considering that.
a1300Cursor M. 11212 Sin godd wald þat it sua suld be. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 946 God war worthy mare to be lufed þan any creature,..Syn he es maker of althynge. c1400Apol. Loll. 28 Syn al power is of God,..man may do no þing, but if he ȝeue him þe miȝt. 1484Caxton Fables of Auian xvi, Syn I hold the now, thou shalt not scape fro me. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxi. 211, I care not whether I lyue or dye syn I haue founde you. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 8 Now, woer, sin ye are lighted down Where do ye win. 1818Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck iii, I wish ye had suffered under ony hand but mine, sin' it be your lot. 1877Holderness Gloss. 126/1.
†b. So sin that. Obs.
c1375Cursor M. 3167 (Fairf.), Quar sal we take a beste þis sacrifise to make, syn þat we haue broȝt nane. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §4 Me semeth conuenient, sin þat I speke of the assendent, to make of it special declaracioun. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 44 Syn that a knyght is capitayn of a batayll the lyf of them..lyeth in his hand. |