penance

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English penaunce, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Anglo-Norman, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French peneance, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin paenitentia (“penitence”). Doublet of penitence.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛn.əns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

penance (countable and uncountable, plural penances)

1. A voluntary self-imposed punishment for a sinful act or wrongdoing. It may be intended to serve as reparation for the act.
   • Coleridge

     Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, / And penance more will do."

2. A sacrament in some Christian churches.
3. Any instrument of self-punishment.
4. (obsolete) repentance
5. (obsolete) pain; sorrow; suffering
   • Chaucer

     Joy or penance he feeleth none.

Synonyms

• penitence
• atonement

Translations

voluntary self-imposed punishment

• Bulgarian: покая́ние (bg) n (pokajánie)
• Catalan: penitència
• Danish: pønitense c
• Dutch: boetedoening (nl)
• French: pénitence (fr)
• Georgian: მონანიება (monanieba)
• German: Buße (de) f, Bußleistung f, Bußübung f, Bußwerk n, Bußverfahren n, Sühnung f, Selbstkasteiung f, Pönitenz f
• Hungarian: vezeklés (hu)
• Irish: aithrí f
• Italian: penitenza (it)
• Japanese: 難行 (なんぎょう, nangyou), 苦行 (ja) (くぎょう, kugyou), 難行苦行 (なんぎょうくぎょう, nangyou-kugyou)
• Maori: rīpenetātanga
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: bot (no)
• Occitan: peniténcia f, pentiment m
• Polish: pokuta (pl) f
• Portuguese: penitência (pt) f
• Romanian: pocăință (ro)
• Russian: искупле́ние (ru) n (iskuplénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: peanas m
• Serbo-Croatian: pokora (sh)
• Spanish: penitencia (es)
• Swedish: bot (sv) c, penitens (sv) c

sacrament in some churches

• Catalan: penitència f
• Dutch: berouw (nl), penitentie (nl)
• French: pénitence (fr) f
• German: Bußsakrament n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: aithrí f
• Italian: penitenza (it) f
• Portuguese: penitência (pt) f
• Spanish: penitencia (es) f

Verb

1. To impose penance; to punish.
   • 1819, John Keats, “Lamia”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, part I, page 6:

     She seem'd, at once, some penanced lady elf, / Some demon mistress, or the demon's self.