Present participle of offend; causing displeasure or committing a crime or wrongdoing.
From Latin 'offendere,' meaning to strike against or stumble upon, combining 'ob-' (against) and '-fendere' (to strike). The sense evolved from physical collision to moral transgression.
The word 'offend' literally meant to stumble or trip in Latin - the metaphorical leap from physical stumbling to moral stumbling shows how our ancestors understood wrongdoing as a kind of spiritual clumsiness.
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