penitentiary

Meaning

Noun

1. (US) A state or federal prison for convicted felons; (loosely) a prison.
2. A priest in the Roman Catholic Church who administers the sacrament of penance.
3. (obsolete) One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance.
4. (obsolete) One who does penance.
5. (obsolete) A small building in a monastery, or a part of a church, where penitents confessed.
6. (obsolete) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc.; run by a cardinal called the Grand Penitentiary who is appointed by the pope.
7. (obsolete) An officer in some dioceses since 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him.

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Of or relating to penance; penitential.
2. (not-comparable) Of or relating to the punishment of criminals.

Synonyms

prison

jail

gaol

penitential

reformatory

pen

🖊️

slammer

colony

stockade

cell

penal institution

jailhouse

penal colony

pokey

poky

repentant

prison house

detention house

punitory

cloister jail

confined place

reformatory school

borstal institution

approved school

juvenile reform school

bastille

borstal

brig

confinement

correctional

dungeon

house of detention

inquisition

lockup

nick

penal

Translations

penitenciaría

pénitencier

prison

penitenziario

cezaevi

Zuchthaus

cárcel

Gefängnis

hapishane

σωφρονιστήριο

prisión

carcere

Justizvollzugsanstalt

gevangenis

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəɹi/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: penitentiary

In summary

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.