Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Penitent

Pen′i·tent (·tent), a. [F. pénitent, L. paenitens, -entis, poenitens, p. pr. of paenitere, poenitere, to cause to repent, to repent; prob. akin to poena punishment. See Pain.] 1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant; contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on amendment of life.

Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite. Milton.

The pound he tamed, the penitent he cheered. Dryden.

2. Doing penance. [Obs.] Shak.

Pen′i·tent, n. 1. One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of his transgressions.

2. One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.

3. One under the direction of a confessor.

☞ Penitents is an appellation given to certain fraternities in Roman Catholic countries, distinguished by their habit, and employed in charitable acts.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.