penitentiary

Inflections of 'penitentiary' (n): npl: penitentiaries

pen•i•ten•tia•ry n. [countable], pl. -ries.

See -pen-.

pen•i•ten•tia•ry 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 crimesSometimes shortened to: pen
- a cardinal who presides over a tribunal that decides all matters affecting the sacrament of penance
- this tribunal itself

adj

Etymology: 15th Century (meaning also: an officer dealing with penances): from Medieval Latin poenitēntiārius, from Latin paenitēns penitent

'penitentiary' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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