English → Latin
“penal” in Latin
poenapenalty, punishment; hardship, torment; executionanimadvertōto pay attention, attend, focus, concentrate, give heed to, consider, regard, observe; to notice, observe, take note (offacinusdeed, action, doing; adventure, venture, undertaking; crime, wickedness, evil deed
The English word penal itself goes back to Latin poena, through penalis.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
penal
Relating to punishment, by circumlocution. A penal law, *lex poenam sanciens.
Having a punishment attached, poena or (stronger) supplicio dignus (of persons or things): animadvertendus (of things; e.g., facinus).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for penal?
- The usual Latin words for “penal” are poena, animadvertō, facinus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.