Webster's English Dictionary

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penitentiary

1. pen.i.ten.tia.ry \.pen-*-'tench-(*-)re-, 'pen-'tench-\ n [ME 
   penitenciary, fr. ML poenitentiarius, fr. poenitentia] 1a: an officer in 
   some Roman Catholic dioceses vested with power from the b ishop to absolve 
   in cases reserved to him 1b: a tribunal of the Roman curia concerned with 
   private spiritual matters  2: a public institution in which offenders 
   against the law are confined for  detention or punishment; specif : a state 
   or federal prison in the U.S.
2. pen.i.ten.tia.ry \.pen-*-'tench-(*-)re-, 1 also -'tench-e--.er-e-, 2 
   also '\ ajpen-'tench- 1: PENITENTIAL  2: of, relating to, or incurring 
   confinement in a penitentiary