'Penitentiary' definitions:
Definition of 'penitentiary'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers; "penitentiary institutions"
adjective
Showing or constituting penance; "penitential tears"; "wrote a penitential letter apologizing for her hasty words" [syn: penitential, penitentiary]
noun
A correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes [syn: penitentiary, pen]
Definition of 'Penitentiary'
From: GCIDE
- Penitentiary \Pen`i*ten"tia*ry\ (p[e^]n`[i^]*t[e^]n"sh[.a]*r[y^]), a. [Cf. F. p['e]nitentiaire.]
- 1. Relating to penance, or to the rules and measures of penance. "A penitentiary tax." --Abp. Bramhall. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Expressive of penitence; as, a penitentiary letter. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Used for punishment, discipline, and reformation. "Penitentiary houses." --Blackstone. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Penitentiary'
From: GCIDE
- Penitentiary \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. [1913 Webster]
- 2. One who does penance. [Obs.] --Hammond. [1913 Webster]
- 3. A small building in a monastery where penitents confessed. --Shpiley. [1913 Webster]
- 4. That part of a church to which penitents were admitted. --Shipley. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 6. A house of correction, in which offenders are confined for punishment, discipline, and reformation, and in which they are generally compelled to labor; a prison; a jail. Colloquially often shortened to pen. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'penitentiary'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- 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