Venal and Venial

Main Entry: ve·nal
Pronunciation: \ˈvē-nəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin venalis, from venum (accusative) sale; akin to Greek ōneisthai to buy, Sanskrit vasna price

Date: 1652
1 : capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration : purchasable; especially : open to corrupt influence and especially bribery : mercenary

2 : originating in, characterized by, or associated with corrupt bribery


A venial sin meets at least one of the following criteria:

It does not concern a "grave matter",
It is not committed with full knowledge, or
It is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent.
As the above criteria are the three criteria for mortal sin stated negatively (via de Morgan's theorem[citation needed]), a sin which met none of these extenuating conditions would necessarily be considered mortal.