peccadillo
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Spanish pecadillo, diminutive form of pecado (“sin”), from Latin peccatum (“sin, error, fault”), from peccō (“I sin, offend”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌpɛ.kəˈdɪ.loʊ/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌpɛ.kəˈdɪ.ləʊ/
- Rhymes: -ɪləʊ
Audio (US) (file)
Noun[edit]
peccadillo (plural peccadillos or peccadilloes)
- A small flaw or sin.
- 1991, Douglas Coupland, “Celebrities Die”, in Generation X, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 112:
- We tolerate Irene and Phil’s mild racist quirks and planet-destroying peccadilloes (“I could never own any car smaller than my Cutlass Supreme”) because their existence acts as a tranquilizer in an otherwise slightly-out-of-control world.
- A petty offense.
- Synonym: veniality
- 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 106:
- When he comes to the prayer, he sometimes does me the honor of personally recommending me to the Lord, advising him that I am a worthy man and begging him to condone my occasional peccadillos.
- 2019, John O’Connell, chapter 56, in Bowie's Bookshelf, →ISBN:
- No sexual peccadillo is left unremarked upon.
Translations[edit]
small sin or flaw
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petty offense
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Further reading[edit]
- peccadillo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia