Definition 1: Sinful, capable of sin, wrong-doing, or error—imperfect.

Usage 1: Orphan negatives are the negatives of words fallen out of use, such as "hapless," "inane," "insipid," "immaculate," "impromptu," "nonchalant." An unlucky person is hapless but a lucky person is doesn't have much hap. You're very clean if you’re immaculate but not maculate if you’re very dirty and, if you don't care, you’re indifferent, but if you do, it shouldn't make you all that different. However, if you’re not impeccable, "sinless and incapable of sin," you will be peccable for "impeccable" is a false orphan negative. The stem, "peccable," still lurks around the edge of language, still a part of language though not of speech, our use of language.

Suggested usage: Today's word is a specialized term for one sense of "imperfect," "Miss Deeds led a peccable but overall agreeable life." Do allow for the double takes of those listening to you when you use it, though: "Weems may be too peccable to keep the company books."

Etymology: Today's word comes from Latin Latin peccabilis "sinful" from peccare "to stumble, sin." "Peccare" comes from a Proto-Indo-European construction *ped-ko, based on the root *ped-, which became Latin pes, pedis "foot," found in English "pedal," "pedestrian," and "impede" from Latin impedire "to hobble." In Russian the root emerged as pod "under," in Sanskrit as padam "footstep" and pat "foot, and in Greek as pous, pod- "foot," which we find in the eight-footed "octopus," the flat-footed "platypus," not to mention the three-footed "tripod." As we would expect, in English the [p] becomes [f] and the [d], [t], giving us "foot" and, with a lock of hair, "fetlock."