# penitent
## English
### Alternative forms

* pænitent (archaic)
* penitant (obsolete)
* pœnitent (archaic, nonstandard)

### Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitēns, poenitēns (“penitent”), present participle of paeniteō, poeniteō (“I cause to repent; I regret, repent”). Doublet of penitente.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɛnɪtənt/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Adjective

penitent (comparative more penitent, superlative most penitent)
* Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses; feeling sincere guilt.
    Synonyms: repentant, contrite; see also Thesaurus:remorseful
** 1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite.
** 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:If thou be penitent and grieved, or desirous to be so, these heinous sins shall not be laid to thy charge.
* Doing penance.
** c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:[…] But we that know what ’tis to faſt and pray, / Are penitent for your default to day.

#### Translations
### Noun

penitent (plural penitents)
* One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of their transgressions.
* One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.
    Hyponym: consistent
** 1837, William Russell, The History of Modern Europe: with an Account of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Longman, Rees, & Co., page 20:Wamba, who defeated the Saracens in an attempt upon Spain, was deprived of the crown, because he had been clothed in the habit of a penitent, while labouring under the influence of poison, administered by the ambitious Erviga!
* One under the direction of a confessor.

#### Translations
### Further reading

* “penitent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “penitent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
* “penitent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɛˈɲi.tɛnt/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -itɛnt
* Syllabification: pe‧ni‧tent

### Etymology 1

Internationalism; compare English penitent, French pénitent, German Pönitent, ultimately from Latin poenitēns.

#### Noun

penitent m pers (female equivalent penitentka)
* (Roman Catholicism) penitent (who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of their transgressions)

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

Borrowed from English penitente, from French penitente, from Spanish (nieve) penitente.

#### Noun

penitent m inan
* penitente (tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes)

##### Declension
### Further reading

* penitent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* penitent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French pénitent, from Latin poenitens.

### Adjective

penitent m or n (feminine singular penitentă, masculine plural penitenți, feminine and neuter plural penitente)
* penitent