Where does “penitentiary” come from?
Penitentiary derives from Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin penitentiarius, from Latin paenitentia meaning regret or repentance, from paenitens, the present participle of paeniteo meaning to feel regret, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peh₁-.
penitentiary (English): A state or federal prison for convicted felons; a prison
Definitions
- A state or federal prison for convicted felons; a prison
Ancestry of “penitentiary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | penitentiary | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | penitentiarius | place of penitence |
| 3 | Latin | paenitentia | repentance, penitence, regret; penance;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μετάνοια | afterthought, repentance |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μετανοέω | to perceive afterwards or too late; to change... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | νοέω | to perceive, observe, see, notice; to think,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | νόος | mind; an act of mind; the sense or meaning of a... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |