Cultural Note
The 'sine cera' (without wax) story appears in Renaissance sermons; scholars doubt it, yet it has shaped how English speakers hear the word for four centuries.
Sincere
/sɪnˈsɪər/ · adjective
Free from pretense; genuine.
- Present
- 16th c.
- 1st c.
- Reconstructed
Preserved Worldview
Folk etymology hears 'without wax' — Roman sculptors filling marble cracks with wax to hide flaws. The truth is muddier, but the myth itself is now part of the fossil.
Meaning Evolution
- Reconstructedone + growth↓
- 1st c.clean, pure, whole↓
- 16th c.Pure, unmixed↓
- PresentGenuine, honest
Philosophical Note
A reminder that a word's imagined past can be more powerful than its verified one.
Cognates
- sincerity
Descendants
- insincere
- sincerely
Source Notes
- · OED
- · Ernout & Meillet