English
penitencer
Penitencer comes from French pénitencier ‘penitentiary, prison’, from pénitence ‘penance’, and ultimately from Latin paeniteō ‘regret, repent’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteō1‘regret, repent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitēns1‘repenting’present active participle of paeniteō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitentia2
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpénitence3‘penance’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpénitencier4‘penitentiary, prison’
- Englishearliest quotation 1875penitencer4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin paenitentia
- 2 Wiktionary, French pénitence
- 3 Wiktionary, French pénitencier
- 4 Wiktionary, English penitencer
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, Clarke, Charles Cowden: “I say not that if thou be assigned to…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteōWiktionary, Latin paenitentia‘regret, repent’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitēnsWiktionary, Latin paenitentia‘repenting’present active participle of paeniteō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaenitentiaWiktionary, French pénitence
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpénitenceWiktionary, French pénitencier‘penance’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpénitencierWiktionary, English penitencer‘penitentiary, prison’
- Englishearliest quotation 1875penitencerWiktionary, English penitencer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, Clarke, Charles Cowden: “I say not that if thou be assigned to…”
Linked words
through Latin paeniteō ‘regret, repent’
through Latin paenitentia
Today it means
noun A priest who heard confession and enjoined penance in extraordinary cases.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “penitencer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin paenitentia, French pénitence, French pénitencier. 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 / Latin paeniteō / penitencer