| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024pen•i•ten•tia•ry /ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəri/USA pronunciation n. [countable], pl. -ries. - a place for imprisonment or punishment.
See -pen-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024pen•i•ten•tia•ry (pen′i ten′shə rē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ries, adj. n. - a place for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment, esp. a prison maintained in the U.S. by a state or the federal government for serious offenders.
- Religion[Rom. Cath. Ch.]a tribunal in the Curia Romana, presided over by a cardinal (grand penitentiary), having jurisdiction over certain matters, as penance, confession, dispensation, absolution, and impediments, and dealing with questions of conscience reserved for the Holy See.
adj. - (of an offense) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary.
- of, pertaining to, or intended for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment.
- penitential.
- Medieval Latin pēnitēntiārius of penance. See penitence, -ary
- late Middle English penitenciarie priest who administers penance, prison 1375–1425
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: penitentiary /ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃərɪ/ n ( pl -ries)- (in the US and Canada) a state or federal prison: in Canada, esp a federal prison for offenders convicted of serious crimes
Sometimes shortened to: pen - a cardinal who presides over a tribunal that decides all matters affecting the sacrament of penance
- this tribunal itself
adj - another word for penitential
- US Canadian (of an offence) punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary
Etymology: 15th Century (meaning also: an officer dealing with penances): from Medieval Latin poenitēntiārius, from Latin paenitēns penitent |