correctional

Etymology

It is formed from English correction + -al.^[2][3][4] Etymonline also allows a borrowing from Medieval Latin correctionalis.^[4] Correction is from Old French correccion, from Latin correctiō (“amendment, improvement”), a noun from the past participle of corrigō (“to put straight; to reform”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tending to or intended for correction: Etymonline dates it to 1790.^[4] The OED's first record is from Gladstone's The State in its Relations with the Church, in 1838,^[2] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1830–40.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The general sense "of correction, corrective" has narrowed in modern use to the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, in phrases such as correctional facility and correctional officer;^[5][6] Collins labels this use chiefly American.^[5]

Timeline

• 1790 – intended for correction.^[4]
• 1838 – corrective, in Gladstone.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Concerned with the punishment and rehabilitation of people convicted of crimes: a correctional facility.^[5][6]
2. Of or relating to correction; corrective.^[6][2]

Word family

• correctional facility
• correctional officer

Related words

• correction
• correct
• corrective

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster