Dictionary.com Word Of The Day
Aug. 23, 2016
venial\VEE-nee-uh l, VEEN-yuh l\adjective
1. able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin
(opposed to mortal).
2. excusable; trifling; minor: a venial error; a venial offense.
QuotesNow a venial sin being the slightest and least of all sins--being
halved--or, by taking either only the half of it, and leaving the
rest--or, by taking it all, and amicably halving it betwixt yourself
and another person--in course becomes diluted into no sin at all.
-- Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy,
Gentleman, Volume 4, 1761
Origin of venialVenial can be traced to the Latin term venia meaning
"grace, favor, indulgence." It entered English in the mid-1200s.More
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