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poenalitas

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word poenalitas

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1182
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ποινή
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin poenalis
Latin poenalitas

Forms

poenālitās f (genitive poenālitātis); third declension[1] Also spelled pēnālitās, penalitas and paenalitas.[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is a Medieval Latin formation,[2][4] from Latin poenālis + -tās,[3][5] from poena (“penalty, punishment”),[1] itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first record to about 1182, from the British material collected by Latham,[1] and the DMLBS quotes it in the sense of punishment.[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the punishment itself, it meant an offence deserving punishment and bodily suffering or hardship.[2] Thomas Aquinas uses it both for the penal character of something and as a synonym of poena.[7] Du Cange records it as a fine, as anxiety of mind (in a letter of Louis II, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, of 1402) and as punishment.[8] In Polish Medieval Latin it also meant toil, suffering and mortification.[3] It passed into Italian penalità,[4] and into English as penalty, partly through French.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1182 – First recorded in British Medieval Latin.[1][2]
  • 1265–1273 – Thomas Aquinas uses it of the penal character of an act and of punishment.[7][1]
  • 1387 – A Polish document uses it for punishment.[3]
  • 1402 – A letter of Louis II, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, uses it for distress of mind.[8]
  • 1432 – A sermon quoted by Ramminger speaks of the poenalitas of the present life.[9]
  • c. 1500 – English penalty is first recorded.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) Penalty, punishment.[2][1][8]
  2. (Medieval Latin) An offence that deserves punishment; liability to punishment.[2][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Bodily suffering, pain; hardship.[2][3]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Distress of mind.[8]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A fine.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  4. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
  8. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  9. ^ Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
Cite this entry

“Poenalitas.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/poenalitas. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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