Link Centre Dictionary

penitentiary

pe·ni·ten·tiary

UK/ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəɹi/ US/ˌpɛnɪˈtɛntʃɜri/ fairly common us
noun (1) adjective (1)

noun

1.

a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes

Synonyms

adjective

1.

used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers

  • “penitentiary institutions”
Similar

Origin

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.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.