Punishment
/ˈpʌn.ɪʃ.mənt/noun
The act of inflicting a penalty for an offense.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin roots tied to *punire*, meaning to exact a penalty, and its history shows how law turns pain into an institution.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peu-
“to harm, strike, or punish”
Latin
Latin
punire
“to inflict a penalty, punish”
Old French
OF
punir
“to punish”
Middle English
ME
punisshen
“to punish”
14th–15th Century
English
punishment
“the act of punishing or the state of being punished”
Modern English
English
punishment
“the act of inflicting a penalty for an offense”