Retribution
/ˌrɛtrɪˈbjuːʃən/noun
Punishment inflicted in return for a wrong or crime.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin retribuere, “to pay back,” and in older legal-religious language it could feel like a moral balancing of accounts, as if wrongdoing had to be answered by the universe.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰer-
“to carry, bear”
Latin
Latin
tribuere
“to assign, allot, grant”
Latin
Latin
retribuere
“to pay back, repay”
Late Latin
Latin
retributio
“a repayment, recompense”
Middle English
English
retribucioun
“recompense or repayment”
Modern English
English
retribution
“punishment or vengeance in return for wrongdoing”
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