penitentiary - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

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- - penfriend
  - penguin
  - penicillate
  - penicillin
  - penile
  - peninsula
  - penis
  - penis envy
  - penitent
  - Penitential Psalms
  - penitentiary
  - penknife
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  - penman
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penitentiary

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Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
penitentiary /ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃ(ə)ri/

▶noun (pl. penitentiaries)

1 N. Amer. a prison for people convicted of serious crimes.

2 (in the Roman Catholic Church) a priest appointed to administer penance.
■ an office in the papal court deciding questions relating to penance, dispensations, etc.

– origin ME: from med. L. paenitentiarius, from L. paenitentia ‘repentance’.

'penitentiary' also found in these Oxford entries:

Grand Penitentiary - pen

Forum discussions with the word(s) "penitentiary" in the title:

jail, prison, penitentiary

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