on pain of

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on pain of

/ɒn ˈpeɪn əv/ UK
/ɑn ˈpeɪn əv/ US

Where it comes from

From on + pain (“suffering inflicted as punishment or penalty”) + of; compare French sous peine de.

preposition

Used to warn of consequences if a specified act is done or not done: subject to the punishment of (some penalty); or (generally) subject to the circumstance of (some thing). On paine of death, no perſon be ſo bold, Or daring, hardy, as to touch the liſtes, Except the Martiall and ſuch officers Appoynted to direct theſe faire deſignes.
Similar: under pain of, upon pain of

Translations

Every language

prep subject to the punishment or (generally) circumstance of

Español	so pena de
Français	sous peine de
Deutsch	bei, unter Androhung von

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Cite this

MLA

"on pain of." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/on%20pain%20of. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

on pain of. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/on%20pain%20of

Chicago

"on pain of." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/on%20pain%20of.

BibTeX

@misc{on_pain_of_2026,
  title = {on pain of},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/on%20pain%20of},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}