penitent

Alternative forms

• pænitent (archaic)
• pœnitent (archaic, nonstandard)

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitēns, poenitēns (“penitent”), present participle of paeniteō, poeniteō (“I cause to repent; I regret, repent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛnɪtənt/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

penitent (comparative more penitent, superlative most penitent)

1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant; contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on amendment of life.
   • 1838, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, B. Blake, p.730,

     If thou be penitent and grieved, or desirous to be so, these heinous sins shall not be laid to thy charge.

   • Milton

     Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite.

2. Doing penance.
   • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, [Act I, scene ii]:

     […] But we that know what ’tis to faſt and pray, / Are penitent for your default to day.

Noun

penitent (plural penitents)

1. One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of his or her transgressions.
2. One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.
   • 1837, William Russell, The History of Modern Europe: with an Account of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Longman, Rees, & Co., page 20,

     Wamba, who defeated the Saracens in an attempt upon Spain, was deprived of the crown, because he had been clothed in the habit of a penitent, while labouring under the influence of poison, administered by the ambitious Erviga!

3. One under the direction of a confessor.

Related terms

Further reading

• penitent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• penitent in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• penitent at OneLook Dictionary Search