penitence

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penitence

Where it comes from

First attested circa 13th century, from Middle English penitence, from Old French penitence, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”), from paenitēns (“penitent”), present active participle of paeniteō (“regret, repent”). Equivalent to penitent + -ence. Doublet of penance.

noun penitences · pænitence

countable, uncountable The condition of being penitent; a feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning. an assassin who misses his aim and flounders into penitence much as that discomfortable drama misses its point and stumbles into vacuity
Similar: compunction, contrition, remorse, repentance, penance, atonement

Translations

Every language

noun condition of being penitent

Español	penitencia
Português	contrição, penitência
Deutsch	Reue, Bußfertigkeit, Buße

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MLA

"penitence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/penitence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

penitence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/penitence

Chicago

"penitence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/penitence.

BibTeX

@misc{penitence_2026,
  title = {penitence},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/penitence},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}