penance

English

Etymology

From Middle English penaunce, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French peneance, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”). Doublet of penitence.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛn.əns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pen‧ance

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.
   • 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC:

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

2. A sacrament in some Christian churches that involves penitence (remorse plus restitution via prayer).
3. Any instrument of self-punishment.
4. (obsolete) repentance
5. (obsolete) pain; sorrow; suffering

Synonyms

• penitence
• atonement

Coordinate terms

• prayaschitta (penance in Hinduism)

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *peh₁- (0 c, 30 e)

Translations

voluntary self-imposed punishment

• Bulgarian: покая́ние (bg) n (pokajánie)
• Catalan: penitència
• Chinese: 苦修 (zh) (kŭ xiū), 苦行 (zh) (kŭ xíng)
• Danish: pønitense c
• Dutch: boetedoening (nl)
• French: pénitence (fr)
• Galician: penitencia (gl) f
• Georgian: მონანიება (monanieba)
• German: Buße (de) f, Bußleistung f, Bußübung f, Bußwerk n, Bußverfahren n, Sühnung f, Selbstkasteiung (de) f, Pönitenz f
• Hindi: प्रायश्चित (prāyaścit), तपस्या (hi) f (tapasyā)
• 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)
• Macedonian: покаја́ние n (pokajánie), покају́вање n (pokajúvanje)
• Maori: rīpenetātanga
• Norwegian: bot (no)
• Occitan: peniténcia (oc) f, pentiment (oc) 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
• Tocharian B: pälśalñe

sacrament in some churches

• Catalan: penitència f
• Chinese: 修和圣事 (xiū hé shèng shì), 和好圣事 (hé hǎo shèng shì)
• Dutch: berouw (nl), penitentie (nl)
• Finnish: katumus (fi)
• French: pénitence (fr) f
• German: Bußsakrament n
• Irish: aithrí f
• Italian: penitenza (it) f
• Portuguese: penitência (pt) f
• Spanish: penitencia (es) f

Verb

penance (third-person singular simple present penances, present participle penancing, simple past and past participle penanced)

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.

Middle English

Noun

penance

1. pain; sorrow; suffering
   • c. 1380s, [Geoffrey Chaucer, William Caxton, editor], The Double Sorow of Troylus to Telle Kyng Pryamus Sone of Troye [...] [Troilus and Criseyde], [Westminster]: Explicit per Caxton, published 1482, →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], book IV, [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

     ne Joy nor penance he feeleth none.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)