penance

¹pen·ance

noun \ˈpe-nən(t)s\

Definition of PENANCE

1

: an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin

2

: a sacramental rite that is practiced in Roman, Eastern, and some Anglican churches and that consists of private confession, absolution, and a penance directed by the confessor

3

: something (as a hardship or penalty) resembling an act of penance (as in compensating for an offense)

Examples of PENANCE

1. He did charitable work as a penance.

Origin of PENANCE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin poenitentia penitence

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary