About The Word Penitentiary

Bay Area Crosswords

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Penitentiary

Penitentiary Meaning & Definition
Penitentiary Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Penitentiary?

[n] a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes
[adj] used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers; "penitentiary institutions"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Penitentiary: pen | punitive | punitory

Related Terms | Find terms related to Penitentiary: abuna | antipope | archbishop | archdeacon | archpriest | bail | bastille | bishop | bishop coadjutor | black hole | borstal | borstal institution | bridewell | brig | can | canon | cardinal | cardinal bishop | cardinal deacon | cardinal priest | cassock | cell | chaplain | coadjutor | concentration camp | condemned cell | confessor | cooler | coop | curate | cure | dean | death cell | death house | death row | detention camp | diocesan | ecclesiarch | exarch | father | father confessor | father in Christ | federal prison | forced-labor camp | gallach | gaol | Grand Penitentiary | guardhouse | hierarch | high priest | Holy Father | hoosegow | house of correction | house of detention | industrial school | internment camp | jail | jailhouse | keep | labor camp | lockup | maximum-security prison | metropolitan | minimum-security prison | oubliette | padre | papa | parish priest | patriarch | pen | penal colony | penal institution | penal settlement | pontiff | pope | POW camp | prebendary | prelate | presbyter | priest | primate | prison | prison camp | prisonhouse | rector | reform school | reformatory | rural dean | spiritual director | spiritual father | sponging house | state prison | stockade | subdean | suffragan | the hole | tollbooth | training school | vicar

See Also | correctional institution

Penitentiary In Webster's Dictionary

\Pen`i*ten"tia*ry\, a. [Cf. F. p['e]nitentiaire.] 1. Relating to penance, or to the rules and measures of penance. ``A penitentiary tax.'' --Abp. Bramhall. 2. Expressive of penitence; as, a penitentiary letter. 3. Used for punishment, discipline, and reformation. ``Penitentiary houses.'' --Blackstone.
\Pen`i*ten"tia*ry\, n.; pl. {Penitentiaries}. [Cf. F. p['e]nitencier. See {Penitent}.] 1. One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance. [Obs.] --Bacon. 2. One who does penance. [Obs.] --Hammond. 3. A small building in a monastery where penitents confessed. --Shpiley. 4. That part of a church to which penitents were admitted. --Shipley. 5. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc. Its chief is a cardinal, called the Grand Penitentiary, appointed by the pope. (b) An officer in some dioceses since A. D. 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him. 6. A house of correction, in which offenders are confined for punishment, discipline, and reformation, and in which they are generally compelled to labor.

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