peninsularity 
sistence in antiquated or narrowly local meth- 
ods, notions, or prejudices ; narrowness of mmd. 
Compare iimtlarism 
4374 
I'nless the understanding do first assent, there can fol- 
low in the will towards penitency no inclination at all. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, vi. 3. 
penitent (pen'i-tent), a. and n. [< ME. peni- 
He [Sir Charles Lyell] mixes up in f liis ] letters the vol- f cn ^ <; Qp_ penitent, F. penitent = Sp. Pg. It. 
canoes of (Hot and the salt-mines of Cardona 
amusing chat about 
penitente, 
'peninsulated, ppr. periinsulating. "[< peninsula 
+ -ate 2 .] To encompass almost completely 
with water ; form into a peninsula. 
Erin rlseth of sundrie heads, by east of Erinleie, and 
directing his course toward the sunne rising, it penmtu- 
lateth Seleseie towne on the south-west, and Paghan at 
' Harrison, Descrip. of Britaine, xii. (Holinshed's Chron.) 
On that peninsulated rock called La Spilla, hanging 
over yonder deep cavern, he [St. Francis] was accustomed 
to pass a part of the night in prayer and meditation. 
Eustace, Italy, III. xi. 
peninvariant, n. [< L. psene, pene, almost, + E. 
invariant.'] Same as seminvariant. 
penis (pe'nis), n.; pl.^ewes(-nez), as E. penises 
(-ez). [= F. penis = Sp. pene, < L. penis, for orig. 
*pesnis, tail, penis, = Gr. mof for *nt m>f , penis ; 
akin to MHG. nisei, G. fisel, penis.] The male 
organ of copulation ; the intromittent or copu- 
penis in the vertebrates is generally, in part at least, ho- 
mologous with the organ so named in man, but not in the 
invertebrates ; it is sometimes double, as in certain rep- 
tiles, crabs, etc. In some invertebrates the term is ex- 
tended to organs which deposit spermatozoa without be- 
ing intromittent. Many of the older writers on entomolo- 
gy included under this term all the external male organs 
of generation, dividing them into the phallus, or true in- 
tromittent organ, and the forceps or claspers used in copu- 
!, penitent, a penitent, ppr. of L. 
pssnitere, pcenitere, ML. also penitcre, cause to 
repent, intrans. repent, regret (impers. me 
!, I repent, I regret, am sorry, etc.), freq. 
of pcenir 
ment, 
punish 
(a doublet 
penitential, penitentiary, impenitent, repent, re- 
pentance, etc.] I. a. 1. Sorry for sin or for of- 
fense committed ; contrite ; troubled by a sense 
of guilt and resolved on amendment ; repentant. 
Nor in the land of their captivity 
Humbled themselves, or penitent besought 
The God of their forefathers. Milton, P. B., iii. 421. 
penknife 
This advice was inserted into the Penitential of England 
in the time of Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Dying, V. 5. 
The penitential, abook which only shrift-fathers or priests 
who heard shrifts, that is confessions, might read, con- 
tained the penances decreed by the Church for the differ- 
ent kinds of sin. Rock, Church of our Fathers, III. ii. 19. 
2f. One who has undergone penitential disci- 
pline. S. Butler, Hudibras, it. i. 819. 
J . __ . -_'-.. -r 
tential 01 . co - ntr - it e manner. 
The proud he tam'd, the penitent he cheer'd, 
Nor to rebuke the rich offender f ear'd. 
Dryden, Character of a Good Parson, 1. 
2f 
Doing penance ; suffering. 
But we that know what 'tis to fast and pray 
Are penitent for your default to-day. 
Shak., C. of E., i. 2. 52. 
II. n. 1. One who repents, or is sorry for sin, 
transgression, or offending; a contrite or re- 
pentant person. 
I'll play the penitent. Shak., A. and C., ii. 2. 92. 
Finished, as you expect, a penitent, 
Fully confessed his crime, and made amends. 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 319. 
Eccles., one who makes confession of sin and 
coda, Lepadidse, Proteolepax, Alcippe, Balanus, Cestoidea, 
and Squillidee. 
Certain Rptilia possess a pair of eversible copulatory 
organs situated in integumentary sacs, one on each side 
of the cloaca ; but it does not appear in what manner 
these penes are morphologically related to those of the 
higher Vertebrata. Huxley, Anat Vert,, p. 99. 
penistonet (pen'i-ston), . [From the village of 
Penistone in Yorkshire, Eng.] A coarse woolen 
stuff or frieze. It was in use in England during the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also peniston, pene- 
ston, pennistone, pennystone, and forest whites. 
Accounts arising out of the employment of plaintiff to 
sell "bayes, peiiestones, and other cloaths," goods, Ac., at 
London for the defendant, <fcc., &c. 
Record Soc. Lancashire and Cheshire, xi. 91. 
Penistone flags. Sandstone quarried for build- 
ing and paving near Penistone in Yorkshire, 
England. 
Penistone series. The name given in the Coal- 
brookdale coal-field to the lower division of the 
coal-measures, which consists of sandstone and 
shales with coal and ironstone. The Penistone 
ironstone nodules found in the lower coal-measures often penitential (peu-i-ten'shal), . and n. [ 
yield, when split open, impressions of ferns or other or. penitentiel = Pr. Sp. Pg. penitencial = It. 
ganic remains. -- - - - 
The Chance Pennystone is the highest bed of ironstone 
in the series. In former years Coalbrookdale produced 
the best iron in England. 
H. B. Woodward, Geol. of Eng. and Wales (2d ed.), p. 190. 
penitence (pen'i-tens), . [< ME. penitence, < 
OF. penitence, f ."-penitence = Pr. penitencia, 
penedensa, pentenza = Sp. Pg. penitencia = It. 
penitencia, penitenza, < L. psenitentia, peeniten- 
tia, ML. also penitcntia, repentance, < peeni- 
ten(t-)s,poeniten(t-)s, penitent: seepenitent. Cf. 
penance, an older form of the same word.] The 
state of being penitent ; sorrow for having com- 
mitted sin or for having offended; repentance; 
contrition. 
By penitence the Eternal's wrath 's appeased. 
Shak., 1. G. of V., v. 4. 81. 
And, when frail nature slides into offence, 
The sacrifice for crimes is penitence. 
Drydm, Religio Laici, 1. 53. 
=Syn. Contrition, Compunction, etc. See repentance. 
penitencert (pen'i-ten-ser), n. [< ME. pene- 
taimcer, penitauncer, penytenser; (. OF. peniten- 
cier, F. penitencier = Sp. Pg. penitendario = It. 
penitenziario, < ML. pceniteittiarius, a penitent, 
< L. peenitentia, poenitentia, penitence: see peni- 
tence. Cf . penancer and penitentiary.'] A priest 
who heard confession and enjoined penance in 
extraordinary cases. 
The pope and alle hus penetauncers power hem faylleth 
To a-soyle the of thy synnes. Piers Plowman (0), vii. 256. 
I seye nat that if thow be assigned to the penitauncer 
for certein synne, that thow art bounde to shewen hyni 
al the remenaunt of thy synnes of whiche thow hast be 
shryven to thy curaat. Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
penitenceryt, . See penitentiary. 
penitency (pen'i-teu-si), . [As penitence (see 
-ci/).l Penitence. 
siastical discipline prescribed for its absolution . 
In the early church the penitents formed a distinct class, 
which included only those under ecclesiastical censure, 
admitted to do public penance under the direction of the 
church. Only marked lapses were recognized, but these 
were punished with long and severe penalties, sometimes 
lasting many years. The privilege of penance was usually 
granted but once. The penitents were classified in four 
grades mourners, hearers, kneelers, and standers or con- 
sistentes. Owing to the change of circumstances and the 
relaxation of discipline, public confession gradually ceased 
to be required, but private confession of mortal sins has 
been considered necessary in the Boman Catholic Church 
and of divine obligation. The Greek Church still requires 
confession for all grave sins, but its discipline is not so 
strict as that of the Roman Church. See penance. 
The four or Aersot penitents were . . . the Flentes, whose 
place was in the porch ; the Audientes, in the narthex ; 
the Consistentes and Substrati, in the lower part of the 
nave. J. M. Neale, Eastern Church, i. 208. 
Penitents, a name distinguishing certain Roman Catho- 
lic orders, as the Order of Penitents of St. Magdalen, a re- 
ligious community established by one Bernard of Mar- 
seilles, about the year 1272, for the reception of reformed 
courtezans ; the Congregation of Penitents of St. Magdalen, 
founded at Paris with a similar view ; the White Penitents, 
the Black Penitents, etc. 
[=F. 
peni- 
tenziale, < LL. pxniteiiiidlis, ML. also peiiiten- 
tialis, pertaining to penitence; as a noun, a 
confessor, a priest designated to hear the con- 
fession of penitents; < L. peenitentia, repen- 
tance: see penitence.] I. a. I. Of, pertaining 
to, proceeding from, or expressing penitence 
or contrition of heart: as, penitential sorrow; 
penitential psalms. 
And soften'd pride dro] 
prison ; < ML. pteniten- 
tkirius, 'poenitentiarius, m., one who does pen- 
ance, one who imposes penance and grants ab- 
solution; pseiiftentiaria, f., the office of a con- 
fessor; prop, adj., < L. peenitentia, repentance: 
see penitence. Cf. penitencer, penancer, from 
the same source.] I. a. 1. Relating to pen- 
ance, or to the rules and measures of penance. 
I appeal to any of their own manuals and penitentiary 
books. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 107. 
2. Expressive of contrition or penitence; peni- 
tential: as, a penitentiarji letter Canon peni- 
tentiary, the canon of a cathedral chapter duly appointed 
to consider reserved and special cases of penance. Car- 
dinal penitentiary, a cardinal who presides over the 
tribunal of penitentiaries, and has delegated to him from 
the Pope jurisdiction over special cases of penance. Pen- 
itentiary priest, a priest vested with power to prescribe 
penances and grant absolution in certain cases. 
The Greek church, about the time of Decius the em- 
peror, set over the penitents a public penitentiary priest. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 109. 
II. n. ; pi. penitentiaries (-riz). If. A peni- 
tent ; one who repents of sm or does penance 
for it. 
So Manasseh in the beginning and middle of his reign 
filled the city with innocent blood, and died a penitentiary. 
Jackson, Christ's Session at God's Right Hand, ii. 42. 
'Twas a French friar's conceit that courtiers were of all 
men the likeliest to forsake the world and turn peniten- 
tiaries. Hammond, Works, IV. 517. (Trench.) 
2. A confessor; a person appointed to deal 
with penitents or penances. In particular (a) In 
the early Christian Ch., an officer appointed to confer with 
all penitents and to decide on their admission to public 
penance, or, where necessary, to prescribe private penances. 
(b) In the Rom. Cath. Ch., one who prescribes the rules 
and degrees of penance ; specifically, an officer vested w ith 
power from the bishop to absolve in cases which the or- 
dinary parish priest may be incompetent to determine. 
The saide deponent departed and went to the Chauncel- 
ler into the quere, and he commaunded that he should 
take the penytensary vp to the prysoner w" hym to make 
hym holy water and holy bread. Hall, Hen. VIII., an. 6. 
When he [Thomas Cranmer] went to Rome the Pope 
made him Pcenitentiary of England : an important and lu- 
crative office. R. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., iii. 
(c) In the papa] court, an office in which are examined and 
from which are issued secret bulls, dispensations, etc., the 
tribunal in charge being termed the Tribunal of Peniten- 
tiaries. 
3. A book for the guidance of confessors in 
imposing penances, etc., prescribing the rules 
and measures of penance. 
To each one among them was allotted a course of peni- 
tential works and prayer proportionate to his guilt, by the 
proper official, for whose guidance in such matters Theo- 
dore archbishop of Canterbury, and Ecgberht archbishop 
of York, had severally drawn up a hand-book known as 
the penitentiary. Rock, Church of our Fathers, III. ii. 62. 
4f. A place for the performance of penance; 
a small building in monastic establishments 
in which a penitent confined himself. The term 
was also applied to that part of a church to which peni- 
tents were admitted during the service. 
5. A prison in which convicts are confined for 
punishment and reformation, and compelled to 
labor ; a house of correction ; the place in which 
criminals condemned to penal servitude are 
confined. 
Guilt, that humbly would express 
A penitential loneliness. 
Wordsworth, White Doe of Rylstone, 1. 
With penitential cries they kneel 
And wrestle. 
X. Arnold, Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse. 
2. Eccles., pertaining to the administration of 
the sacrament of penance ; hence, of the nature 
of penance or punishment. 
Hepublished a certen boke of hys own makyng, called pemtentiaryshlp (pen-i-ten sha-n-ship), n. [< 
a penytentiall summe, commaunding hys clergy to put it penitentiary + -ship.} The office of penitentiary 
euerye where in practyce. Bp. Bale, English Votaries, i. or confessor. Wood, AthenSB Oxon., I. 239. 
The tortuous and featureless streets [of Arlesi, which penitently (pen'i-tent-li), adv. Ill a penitent 
were paved with villainous little sharp stones making all manner; with penitence or contrition for sin. 
exerc,se^ (t . H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 192. ^ ('pe-ni'tis), n. [NL., < L. penis, penis, 
Penitential discipline, in the Rom. Cath. and the Or. * ... -, VF v ,. L ..,' f ,'*;,... 
Ch., the administration of spiritual penalties for the main- 
tenance of the purity of the church, or the reformation of 
Inflammation of the penis ; phallitis. 
See l>alanitis, posthitis. 
the offender, of both. Penitential garment, any gar- penk (pengk), n. A dialectal form of pinK*. 
ment assumed for the purpose of causing physical distress penknife (pen'uif, usually pen 'if), n.; pi. pen- 
or suffering, and thus mortifying the flesh. Compare sack- ^^jr"/ \^ [YMF nnmel-mife < nerft + 
coftandKeiMm.-Penitentialpriest. Same&spenOen- *"^ e * (,-mvz;. \\ Mfc. , petmewyje , \ pen 
Tcmfe.] A small pocket-knife: so called from 
its former use in making and mending quill 
pens. 
She had a petikni/e in her hand, 
tiary, 2 (a) and (6). Penitential psalms, the 6th, 32d, 
38th, 51st, 102d, 130th, and 143d psalms, so called from their 
penitential character : in Protestant Episcopal churches 
appointed to be read during the services of Ash Wednes- 
day, and in the Boman Catholic Church on occasions of 
special humiliation. 
II. n. 1. In the Bom. Cath. and the Gr. CT>., a 
book or code of canons relating to penance and 
the reconciliation of penitents. 
And wounded him so deep. 
Earl Richard (Child's Ballads, III. 11). 
He presents no mark to the enemy ; the foeman may 
with as great aim level at the edge of a penknife. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., ill. 2. 286. 
