PENAL
What does "PENAL" mean?
Relating to punishment, especially as imposed by law.
Meanings
- Concerning, prescribing, or inflicting punishment under the law. The penal code sets out the maximum sentence for each offense.
- Used as or serving as a place of punishment. The island once held a notorious penal colony.
Did you know?
- 'Penal', 'penalty', and even 'pain' share one ancestor: the Greek 'poine', which first meant the blood-price paid to a victim's family to settle a killing.
Word origin
From Latin 'poenalis' (relating to punishment), from 'poena' (penalty, pain), itself from Greek 'poine' (blood-price, retribution); the same root gives 'pain', 'penalty', and 'subpoena'.
Remember it
PENAL = PEN (where the punished are kept) + AL: the law of the pen.
A little poem
The statute names the wrong and names the price-
cold ink deciding what will not suffice.
couplet
What it teaches
A society reveals itself in what it chooses to punish and how; the penal page is a mirror, not just a rule.
Quick facts
What does PENAL mean?
Relating to punishment, especially as imposed by law.
Is PENAL a valid word?
Yes — PENAL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is PENAL?
PENAL has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does PENAL come from?
From Latin 'poenalis' (relating to punishment), from 'poena' (penalty, pain), itself from Greek 'poine' (blood-price, retribution); the same root gives 'pain', 'penalty', and 'subpoena'.
What can PENAL teach us?
A society reveals itself in what it chooses to punish and how; the penal page is a mirror, not just a rule.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.