peccadillo
noun
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The Sinful History of Pecadillo
"The world loves a spice of wickedness." That observation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may explain why people are so willing to forgive peccadilloes as youthful foolishness or lapses of judgment. The willingness to overlook petty faults and minor offenses existed long before English speakers borrowed a modified version of the Spanish pecadillo at the end of the 16th century. Spanish speakers distinguished the pecadillo, or "little sin," from the more serious pecado, their term for a sin of magnitude. And these Spanish terms can be traced back still further, to the Latin verb peccare, meaning "to sin."
Examples of peccadillo in a Sentence
Judy Berman, TIME, 28 Nov. 2024
Yet the Biden Justice Department remains indifferent, as if the issue were merely the personal peccadillos of the president’s ne’er-do-well son, Hunter.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 25 May 2023
His audiences know that family peccadilloes are a cornerstone of that material, which nestles this fictional exploration of similar subject matter firmly in his comfort zone.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 24 May 2023
But as the capital merry-go-round spun its peccadilloes, scandals and ballyhooed promises, his jaunty baritone restored order with bipartisan japes and irreverent songs to deflate the preening ego and the Big Idea. Presidents from Eisenhower to Trump caught the flak.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for peccadillo
Cite this Entry
“Peccadillo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peccadillo. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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peccadillo
noun
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