English
punitivism
punitive + -ism
Formed from punitive + -ism
Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
…
Latin poena ‘punishment, penalty’
Medieval Latin pūniō ‘to punish’
Medieval Latin pūnitīvus
Middle French punitif
English punitive
Today it means
noun Support for the expansion and strengthening of criminal penalties, especially as opposed to other methods of addressing crime.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “punitivism”. 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 / punitivism