What does the word penitentiary mean?

Legal Definition of penitentiary : a state or federal prison for the punishment and reformation of convicted felons — compare house of correction, house of detention, jail, lockup. More from Merriam-Webster on penitentiary.

Why do they call it a penitentiary?

A penitentiary is a prison for big-time criminals convicted of big-time crimes. Penitentiary comes from the Latin paenitentia, meaning “repentance.” A penitentiary is a place you are sent to make repentance for a crime committed.

What is the synonym of penitentiary?

penitentiary. prison. prison camp. prisoner-of-war camp. slammer.

Who introduced the term penitentiary?

Etymology. From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”), from Latin paenitentia (“penitence”), term used by the Quakers in Pennsylvania during the 1790s, describing a place for penitents to dwell upon their sins.

What is a Catholic penitentiary?

The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins in the Catholic Church. The Apostolic Penitentiary has jurisdiction only over matters in the internal forum.

What are the four types of prisons?

Federal prisons

1. Minimum security. These prisons, sometimes called Federal Prison Camps (FPCs), have the lowest level of security and are used to house non-violent offenders with a relatively clean record.
2. Low security.
3. Medium security.
4. High security.
5. Administrative.

What is the American penitentiary?

The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.

How do you use the word penitentiary in a sentence?

Penitentiary in a Sentence 🔉

1. My brother is a guard inside of a penitentiary that houses traitors, military spies, and the like.
2. After hearing the jury’s verdict, the judge sentenced the defendant to sixty years in the state penitentiary.
3. Most of the inmates in the penitentiary have committed major criminal offenses.

Who invented the word penitentiary?

From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”), from Latin paenitentia (“penitence”), term used by the Quakers in Pennsylvania during the 1790s, describing a place for penitents to dwell upon their sins.

What does the Apostolic Penitentiary do?

The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins in the Catholic Church.

What is the role of the Apostolic Penitentiary?

One of the three tribunals of the Holy See (along with the Roman Rota and the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura), which have the task of upholding moral conduct and safeguarding justice in the comportment of both individuals and of the diverse offices of the Apostolic See.