English
penal
Penal comes from Medieval Latin penalis, from Latin poena ‘punishment’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-1‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂2‘payment’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́3reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινή2poinḗ‘punishment’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena2‘punishment’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoenalis2
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500penalis2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400peinal2
- Englishtodaypenal2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂
- 2 Wiktionary, English penal
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινή
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂Wiktionary, English penal‘payment’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινήreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήWiktionary, English penalpoinḗ‘punishment’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoenaWiktionary, English penal‘punishment’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoenalisWiktionary, English penal
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500penalisWiktionary, English penal
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400peinalWiktionary, English penal
- EnglishtodaypenalWiktionary, English penal
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
poetry, painful, poem, poet, titanium, painless, 23 more
through Ancient Greek ποινή ‘punishment’
through Latin poena ‘punishment’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to punishment.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “penal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂, Ancient Greek ποινή. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- / penal