English
penitentiary
Penitentiary comes from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius ‘place of penitence’, from Latin paenitēns ‘repenting’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hate, hurt’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-‘to hate, hurt’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteō‘regret, repent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitēns‘repenting’present active participle of paeniteō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitentia‘penitence’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500pēnitentiārius‘place of penitence’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500penitentiary
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1627same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-‘to hate, hurt’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteō‘regret, repent’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitēns‘repenting’present active participle of paeniteō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitentia‘penitence’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500pēnitentiārius‘place of penitence’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500penitentiary
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1627same form
Earliest quotation: a. 1627, Francis Bacon, Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]: “The Race of this Warre fell vpon the losse…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hate, hurt’
patient, passive, passionate, compassion, patience, compatible, fend, fiend, repentance, repentant, 10 more
through Latin paeniteō ‘regret, repent’
through Latin paenitentia ‘penitence’
Today it means
noun A state or federal prison for convicted felons; (loosely) a prison.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- / penitentiary