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atonement

Pronunciation: /əˈtəʊnm(ə)nt/

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Definition of atonement

noun

[mass noun]

the action of making amends for a wrong or injury:he submitted his resignation as an act of atonement
(in religious contexts) reparation or expiation for sin:an annual ceremony of confession and atonement for sin
(the Atonement) Christian Theology the reconciliation of God and mankind through Jesus Christ.

Origin:

early 16th century (denoting unity or reconciliation, especially between God and man): from at one + -ment, influenced by medieval Latin adunamentum 'unity', and earlier onement from an obsolete verb one 'to unite'