Seven Deadly sins
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Seven Capital sins
Pride, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth. The Island of the Seven Cities. A land of Spanish fable, where seven bishops, who quit- ted Spain during the dominion of the Moors, founded seven cities. The legend says that many have visited the island, but no one has ever quitted it.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Seven Deadly sins” mean?
Pride, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth. The Island of the Seven Cities. A land of Spanish fable, where seven bishops, who quit- ted Spain during the dominion of the Moors, founded seven cities. The legend says that many have visited the island, but no one has ever quitted it.
Is “Seven Deadly sins” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.