original sin

noun — 3 senses

original sin

noun

Etymology Calque of Latin peccātum orīgināle, a phrase used by 4th-century Berber theologian and saint Augustine of Hippo in his interpretations of the Bible.

1

Christianity Adam's disobedience to God.

2

Christianity The state of sinfulness, present in each human from birth, which is a result of Adam's disobedience.

  • I vvas baptized in thy Cordiall vvater, againſt Original ſinne, and I haue drunke of thy Cordiall Blood, for my recouerie, from actuall, and habituall ſinne, in the other Sacrament.1624, John Donne, “11. Prayer.”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, pages 280–281:
  • You have to give director Colm McCarthy, a Scottish TV veteran making his feature film debut, and writer Mike Carey, adapting his own novel, credit for attempting the seemingly impossible task of doing something new with the zombie subgenre. And by blending it with the common YA trope of a young female protagonist who leads the world into a new revolutionary era, they almost get there—largely thanks to newcomer Nanua, who presents her character’s grappling with complex themes of identity and original sin with a childlike guilelessness.2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2017:
3

Figuratively The misdeed partially or entirely responsible for all of the similar ones after it.

  • The dim-wits hardly realize that they come pretty close to accusing God of advocating ritual murder, when they use the Biblical story to prove the “original sin” of the Jews.1970, Morris Kominsky, chapter II, in The Hoaxers: Plain Liars, Fancy Liars, and Damned Liars, volume I, Boston: Branden Press, Inc., 8283-1288-5, page 191:
Derived terms
original antigenic sin

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.