peccant

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ped-“to fall; to stumble; to step; to walk”
2. Latin · derived frompeccāns“wrongdoer”
3. Late Latin · borrowed frompeccantis
4. Middle French · borrowed frompeccant“unhealthy”
5. English todaypeccant

The adjective is borrowed from Middle French peccant (“unhealthy”) (modern French peccant), and from its etymon Late Latin peccantis, the genitive singular of peccāns (“offending; sinning, transgressing”, adjective), from Latin peccāns (“wrongdoer”), a noun use of the active present participle of peccō (“to offend; to sin, transgress”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to fall; to stumble; to step; to walk”). As regards adjective sense 3 (“diseased, unhealthy”) as used in peccant humours, compare Middle French l'umeur peccante, humeurs peccantes, Old French humeurs pechantes, and Late Latin humores peccantes. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Words from the same roots