penitentiary

¹pen·i·ten·tia·ry

noun \ˌpe-nə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)rē\

plural pen·i·ten·tia·ries

Definition of PENITENTIARY

1

a : an officer in some Roman Catholic dioceses vested with power from the bishop to deal with cases of a nature normally handled only by the bishop b capitalized : a cardinal presiding over a tribunal of the Roman curia concerned with dispensations and indulgences

2

: a public institution in which offenders against the law are confined for detention or punishment; specifically : a state or federal prison in the United States

Examples of PENITENTIARY

1. <a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery>

Origin of PENITENTIARY

Middle English penitenciary, from Medieval Latin poenitentiarius, from poenitentia

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to PENITENTIARY

Synonyms: bastille, big house [slang], bridewell, brig, calaboose, can, clink [slang], cooler, coop, guardroom, hock, hold, hoosegow, jailhouse, joint [slang], jug, lockup, nick [British slang], pen, jail, pokey [slang], prison, quod [British slang], slam, slammer, stir [slang], stockade, tolbooth [Scottish]

Related Words: bull pen, cage, cell, hole, tank; block, ward; glasshouse [British], guardhouse, hulk(s); concentration camp, gulag, labor camp, prison camp, stalag, work camp; dungeon, keep, oubliette; reformatory, reform school, training school

Near Antonyms: outside

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Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi