sinful

the word sinful is a native english formation, built from the old english noun 'synn', meaning a moral wrong or an act against divine law. this old english term is of germanic origin, related to old norse 'synd' and likely deriving from a proto-germanic root meaning 'it is true', which evolved to signify 'guilty' and thus 'offense'. the suffix '-ful', from old english '-full', literally means 'full of'. therefore, the literal construction 'full of sin' directly and logically gives rise to the modern abstract meaning of being characterized by wickedness or moral transgression.

Structure: sin (wrongdoing) + ful (full of) sin (old english, noun: moral transgression, offense against divine law) + ful (old english, adjective-forming suffix: full of, characterized by)