Crime and forgiveness

December 31st, 2008 at 07:00am Barry Wood

English is loaded with examples of how one letter can make a big difference. Take the pair “venial” and “venal.”

The former comes from the Latin “venia,” meaning “a grace, favor,” and is akin to “venus,” or “love.”

In this spirit, “venial” is “pardonable” or “excusable: said as of an error or fault.” In theology, “venial,” as applied to a sin, means one “not causing spiritual death.”

“Venal,” on the other hand, means “that can readily be bribed or corrupted.” (We should be familiar with this one in this state.) It comes from another Latin “venus,” one meaning “sale.” It’s also the root for “vend” and “vendor.” Of course, some things should not be for sale.

Neither “venus” is the source for “vendetta,” which English adopted from the Italian. That one comes, appropriately, from the Latin “vindicta,” or “vengeance.”

Entry Filed under: word origins