paenitentia

Forms

paenitentia f (genitive paenitentiae); first declension^[1] It is also spelled poenitentia; medieval Latin has penitentia.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from paeniteō (“to cause regret, repent”) with the suffix -ia, through its present participle paenitēns (“repenting”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan sets the verb under paene (“almost”), whose stem seems to have meant “lacking”, so that the verb first meant “to be unsatisfactory”; the further origin of ⟨paene⟩ is unclear.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Publilius Syrus as its first author.^[5] Lewis and Short note that it is not found in Cicero.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It is regret for one's action, as in Livy, where quick regret follows a decision,^[2][6] and in a weaker sense a change of mind: Pliny the Elder's bird regrets its journey in mid-flight, Tacitus' Caligula is quick to change his mind, and in law an heir may change his mind before accepting an inheritance (Gaius).^[2]

In the Vulgate it renders Ancient Greek μετάνοια (metánoia, “repentance”).^[1] Church Latin used it for repentance of sins, for penance and penitential acts, and for the sacrament of reconciliation,^[7][8] and medieval Latin also for a payment made instead of penance.^[8] English penitence (c. 1200) and, through Old French, penance (c. 1300) come from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Publilius Syrus.^[5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of regret.^[6][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of a change of mind.^[2][5]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius of an heir changing his mind.^[2][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate of repentance.^[1][5]
• c. 1200 – English penitence.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Regret, repentance.^[2][1][6]
2. A change of mind.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Repentance of sins; penance, a penitential act; the sacrament of reconciliation.^[7][8][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A payment in place of penance.^[8]

Word family

• paenitentiālis

Related words

• paenitendus
• paeniteō
• paenitūdō
• paene
• English penitence
• English penance

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill