To Sin Was Originally to Miss the Target
A sinner commits a moral or religious wrong. The Greek word translated as sin in the New Testament comes from archery and means missing the mark.
A sinner is someone who does moral or religious wrong. The Greek word that stands behind sin in the New Testament, *hamartia*, was an ordinary archery term meaning to miss the target — the same word Aristotle used for the fatal error that undoes a tragic hero. The English word is Germanic, but the image of a missed shot travelled into Christian thought with the translations.
- One who sins. *A repentant sinner.*
- Sin — the act or the state. *A grave sin.*
- Sinful — the adjective. *A sinful waste.*
- Playfully, of indulgence. *A sinful chocolate cake.*
- Live in sin — cohabit unmarried, now dated. *They lived in sin for years.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sin | The sin of pride. |
| Verb | sin | To sin knowingly. |
| Agent | sinner | A hardened sinner. |
| Adjective | sinful | Sinful neglect. |
| Greek | hamartia | To miss the mark. |
- He described himself as a sinner in need of grace.Religious.
- It would be a sin to waste this weather.Light, secular use.
- Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins.The traditional list.
The seven deadly sins
- Pride — traditionally counted the root of the others
- Greed — also called avarice
- Wrath — uncontrolled anger
- Envy — resentment at another's good
- Lust, gluttony and sloth — complete the list, fixed by Gregory the Great in the sixth century
Old English *synn*, wrongdoing, plus the agent ending -er. The Greek *hamartia* and its archery sense entered Christian vocabulary through the New Testament and its Latin translation.
Does sin really mean to miss the mark?
The Greek word used in the New Testament does. The English word sin is Germanic and has always meant wrongdoing.
What is hamartia in literature?
The error or flaw that brings about a tragic hero's downfall, from the same Greek word.