penalty

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A punishment given for breaking a rule or law.

   The penalty for speeding is a heavy fine.

2. 2
   noun

   In sport, an advantage given to a team because the other side broke a rule.

   The striker scored from the penalty in the final minute.

3. 3
   noun

   A disadvantage suffered as a result of an action or condition.

   They neglected their health and paid the penalty.

4. 4
   noun

   A sum of money charged for breaking a contract or withdrawing money early.

   You will pay a penalty if you close the account before a year.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Penalty ultimately derives from Latin poena, originally meaning “penalty” and later “pain.” It entered English in the late Middle English period and shares its source with pain and penal.

From Middle French pénalité, from pénal, from Latin poenālis, from poena, borrowing of Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ), from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoinā́, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂, comprising *kʷey- + *-néh₂.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary