penitentiary
Of or relating to penanceOf or relating to penance; penitential.
» Three long-term inmates of the state penitentiary have just escaped.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(not comparable)Of or relating to penance; penitential.
showing or constituting penance
(not comparable)Of or relating to the punishment of criminals.
used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers
Examples
11 sentencesThree long-term inmates of the state penitentiary have just escaped.
Tom escaped from a state penitentiary.
ruТом сбежал из государственной тюрьмы. — corvard
Tom was sent to a state penitentiary.
Rodrigo was sent to an island penitentiary.
Rodrigo was taken to an island penitentiary.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”), from Latin paenitentia (“penitence”), term used by the Quakers in Pennsylvania during the 1790s, describing a place for penitents to dwell upon their sins.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Synonyms
5 synonyms- showing or constituting penance:penitential
Word family
1 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.