different between peccant vs impeccable

English

Etymology

Latin pecc?ns, peccantis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?k?nt/

Adjective

peccant (comparative more peccant, superlative most peccant)

1. (obsolete) Unhealthy; causing disease.
2. Sinful.
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.

Related terms

• impeccable
• peccable

Noun

peccant (plural peccants)

1. (obsolete) An offender.
   • 1654, Richard Whitlock, Zootomia; Or, Observations on the Present Manners of the English

     Yet this conceitednesse and Itch of being taken for a Counsellour, maketh more Reprovers, than Peccants in the world.

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 pecc?

English

Etymology

From Middle French impeccable, from Latin impeccabilis (“not liable to sin”), from im- (“not”) + peccare (“to err, to sin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?p?k?b?l/

Adjective

impeccable (comparative more impeccable, superlative most impeccable)

1. Perfect, without faults, flaws or errors

   The only impeccable writers are those who never wrote. - William Hazlitt

   He grew up in Norway, but he writes impeccable English.

2. Incapable of wrongdoing or sin; immaculate

   It was easy for James V to imprison Lady Glamis, but actually convicting her was far more difficult; her character was impeccable and she was highly respected by all who knew her.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:flawless

Related terms

• peccable
• peccant

Translations

Further reading

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

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin impecc?bilis, from pecc?re (whence pécher).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p?.kabl/

Adjective

impeccable (plural impeccables)

1. perfect, faultless, impeccable

Further reading

• “impeccable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).