peccant

English

Etymology

Latin peccāns, peccantis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɛkənt/

Adjective

peccant (comparative more peccant, superlative most peccant)

  1. (obsolete) Unhealthy; causing disease.
    • Francis Bacon
      peccant humours
  2. Sinful.
    • Milton
      peccant angels
  3. Wrong; defective; faulty.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ayliffe to this entry?)
    • 1886, Henry James, The Bostonians.
      Olive rested her eyes for some moments upon Mrs. Luna, without speaking. Then she said: 'Your veil is not put on straight, Adeline.'
      'I look like a monster—that, evidently, is what you mean!' Adeline exclaimed, going to the mirror to rearrange the peccant tissue.

Noun

peccant (plural peccants)

  1. (obsolete) An offender.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Whitlock to this entry?)

Further reading

  • peccant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • peccant in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
  • peccant at OneLook Dictionary Search

Latin

Verb

peccant

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of peccō
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