LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

poena

poena f (genitive poenae)
Classical[ˈpoe̯.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɛː.na]
№ 223 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininepenalty, punishment
    Ut [...] magnitudine poenae perterreant aliosIn order to terrify others by the severity of punishmentc. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.4
    Post mihi nōn similī poenā commissa luētis.“Hereafter, [believe] me, you will atone by no similar penalty [for] having committed [such misdeeds].” (In other words, another transgression will earn the winds far worse than a verbal warning, says Neptune.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.136
  2. femininehardship, torment
  3. femininefigurativelyexecution

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

malum quod is quī nocuit accipit; poenās dare = pūnīrī.
poena -ae f — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia
punishment
poena — in Seneca, ch. XX

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Vindicta · Ultio · Talio · Pœna · Mulcta · Castigatio · Puniri

1. Vindicta (ἀναδέκτης) is an act of justice, like avenging: ultio (ἀλαλκεῖν, ἀλέξειν), an act of anger, like revenge; talio (τλῆναι), an act of retaliation. 2. Ultio, vindicatio, and talio, take place in consequence of the supreme authority of an individual; punitio, mulctatio, and castigatio, in consequence of the demand of others; pœna (ποινή, πεῖνα, πένομαι), as a punishment which the violated and offended law demands, by any mode of suffering; mulcta (μαλάξαι) as an amercement, which justice and equity demand, as a compensation for injuries done, especially a fine; castigatio, as a chastisement, which may serve to improve the individual, especially a rebuke. Pœna is for the general good; mulcta, for the good of the injured party; castigatio, for that of the guilty party. (v. 249.) 3. Pœnire means to punish, according to the principles of justice; whereas puniri, in Cicero, to take vengeance into one’s own hands.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepoenapoenae
pēnae
genitivepoenae
pēnae		poenārum
pēnārum
dativepoenae
pēnae		poenīs
pēnīs
accusativepoenam
pēnam		poenās
pēnās
ablativepoenāpoenīs
pēnīs
vocativepoenapoenae
pēnae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

poenam subire
to submit to a punishment.
poenas alicuius persequi
to exact a penalty from some one.
poenas expetere ab aliquo
to exact a penalty from some one.
poenas (graves) dare alicui
to be (heavily) punished by some one.
poenam petere, repetere ab aliquo
to exact a penalty from some one.
poenas alicui pendere (alicuius rei)
to be punished by some one (on account of a thing).
poenam (alicuius rei) ferre, perferre
to suffer punishment.
poena afficere aliquem (Off. 2. 5. 18)
to punish some one.
6 more phrases
hanc poenam constituere in aliquem, ut...
to ordain as punishment that...
ulcisci aliquem, poenas expetere ab aliquo
to revenge oneself on some one.
poenam luere (alicuius rei) (Sull. 27. 76)
to be punished for a thing, expiate it.
ulcisci aliquid, poenas alicuius rei expetere
to revenge oneself for a thing.
poenas dependere, expendere, solvere, persolvere
to suffer punishment.
poenas alicuius or alicuius rei repetere ab aliquo
to revenge oneself on another for a thing or on some one's behalf.

poena, ae, f. Gr. ποινή, ἄποινα, quitmoney, fine; Lat. pūnio, poenitet,
I. indemnification, compensation, satisfaction, expiation, punishment, penalty (cf. mulcta).
I. Lit.: SI INIVRIAM FAXIT ALTERI VIGINTI QVINQVE AERIS POENAE SVNTO, Fragm. XII. Tab.: mi calido das sanguine poenas, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 101 Vahl.); imitated by Virgil: tu tamen interea calido mihi sanguine poenas Persolves amborum, Verg. A. 9, 422 Serv.: poenas justas et debitas solvere, Cic. Mil. 31, 85: poenas pendere, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 21; cf. id. As. 2, 4, 77: maximas poenas pendo temeritatis meae, Cic. Att. 11, 8, 1; cf.: rei publicae poenas aut morte aut exsilio dependere, id. Sest. 67, 140: poenas pro civibus suis capere, Sall. J. 68, 3: id pro immolatis in foro Tarquiniensium Romanis poenae redditum, Liv. 7, 19, 3: ut vobis victi Poeni poenas sufferant, Plaut. Cist. 1, 3, 54: poenas sufferre, id. Am. 3, 4, 19: ob mortem alicujus poenas luere, Poët. ap. Cic. N. D. 3, 38, 90: poenas pro aliquā re luere, Sen. Med. 925; Lact. 2, 7, 21; 4, 11, 11; 7, 11, 2: poenam dignam suo scelere suscipere, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 3, 7: poenas a seditioso cive persequi, id. Fam. 1, 9: poenas doloris sui ab aliquo petere, id. Att. 1, 16, 7: repetere poenas ab aliquo, id. Rosc. Am. 24, 67: afficere aliquem poenā, id. Off. 2, 5, 18: multā et poenā multare aliquem, id. Balb. 18, 42: poena falsarum litterarum, id. Fl. 17, 39: reticentiae poena, id. Off. 3, 16, 65: poenas acquas irroget peccatis, Hor. S. 1, 3, 118: mediocrium delictorum poenae, Paul. Sent. 5, 17, 3: poena nummaria, a fine, Mos. et Rom. Leg. Coll. 14, 2, 2; so, pecuniaria, Gai. Inst. 4, 111.—
B. Poena, the goddess of punishment or vengeance; in plur.: Poenae, the goddesses of vengeance, sometimes identified by the poets with the Furiae: o Poena, o Furia sociorum! Cic. Pis. 37, 91; cf.: saeva sororum Poena parens, Val. Fl. 1, 796; so in sing., Stat. Th. 8, 25; in plur., Cic. Clu. 61, 171; Luc. 6, 695; Varr. ap. Non. 390, 9; Val. Fl. 7, 147.—
II. Transf., hardship, torment, suffering, pain, etc. (postAug.): frugalitatem exigit philosophia, non poenam, Sen. Ep. 5, 4; Plin. 23, 2, 28, § 59: captivitatis, Just. 11, 14, 11.—In plur.: in tantis vitae poenis, Plin. 2, 7, 5, § 27: balaenae pariendi poenis invalidae, id. 9, 6, 5, § 13: longa poenarum patientia, Just. 3, 5, 2: ebrius qui nullum forte cecidit, dat poenas, is in anguish, Juv. 3, 279.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷey-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷoynéh₂
  3. Latinpoena

Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ)bor. Latin poena Borrowed from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “penalty, fine, bloodmoney”).

Descendants
  • Frenchpeinefrom Old French peine
  • Englishpainfrom Old French peine
  • Italianpena
  • Occitanpena
  • Catalanpenafrom Occitan pena
  • Portuguesepenafrom Old Galician-Portuguese pẽa
  • Spanishpena
  • Englishpine
  • Romanianpenă
  • Asturianpena

In English words that came into English from poena

  • painpoena
  • penaltypoenālis
  • punishpuniō
  • subpoenasub
  • impunityimpunitas
  • penologypoena
  • penalpenalis
  • punitivepūnitīvus
  • peinepoena
  • punitionpunitio

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesPoenaPoena The original sense of this word, which is derived from the Greek ωροτϝω (Curtius, Gr. Etym. No. 373), seems to have been composition paid by a d…

Quick answers

What does poena mean in Latin?
poena, a noun, means “penalty, punishment; hardship, torment; execution”.
What is the genitive of poena?
The genitive singular is poenae. poena is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce poena?
In classical Latin, [ˈpoe̯.na]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɛː.na].
Where does poena come from?
Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- → Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ → Latin poena.
Which English words come from poena?
English words that go back to Latin poena include pain, subpoena, penology, peine, penalty and punish.