English → Latin
“penitence” in Latin
paenitentiarepentance, penitence, regret; penancesuscipiōto take up, acknowledge; to undertake, assume, begin, incur, enter upon (especially when done voluntarily and as a favorpeccōto sin, transgress, commit a wrongdoing; to mess up
The English word penitence itself goes back to Latin paeniteō, through paenitentia.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
penitence
poenitentia (peccatorum); *dolor ex peccatorum recordatione conceptus or susceptus: vis poenitendi (e.g., so deep or sincere was his penitence, tanta vis erat poenitendi!).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for penitence?
- The usual Latin words for “penitence” are paenitentia, suscipiō, peccō. 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.