An act, process, or means of making amends for wrongdoing or sin; atonement.
From Latin expiatio, derived from expiare. The noun form entered English in the 14th century through religious and legal vocabulary, maintaining its original sense of ceremonial atonement.
Many ancient cultures practiced 'expiation'—from Mesopotamian temple rituals to Jewish Yom Kippur—showing that humans across civilizations felt the need for formalized atonement systems, not just personal guilt.
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