Chapter 21

Pel"ti*form (?), a. [Pelta + - form.] Shieldlike, with the outline nearly circular; peltate. Henslow.

Pel"ting (?), a. Mean; paltry. [Obs.] Shak.

Pelt"ry (?), n. [F. pelleterie peltry, furriery, fr. pelletier a furrier, fr. OF. pel skin, F. peau, L. pelis. See Pelt a skin, Pell, n., Fell a skin.] Pelts or skins, collectively; skins with the fur on them; furs.

Pelt"ry*ware` (?), n. Peltry. [Obs.]

||Pe*lu"do (?), n. [Sp. peludo hairy.] (Zoˆl.) The South American hairy ||armadillo (Dasypus villosus).

Pe*lu"si*ac (?), a. [L. Pelusiacus.] Of or pertaining to Pelusium, an ancient city of Egypt; as, the Pelusiac (or former eastern) outlet of the Nile.

Pel"vic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the pelvis; as, pelvic cellulitis.

Pelvic arch, or Pelvic girdle (Anat.), the two or more bony or cartilaginous pieces of the vertebrate skeleton to which the hind limbs are articulated. When fully ossified, the arch usually consists of three principal bones on each side, the ilium, ischium, and pubis, which are often closely united in the adult, forming the innominate bone. See Innominate bone, under Innominate.

Pel*vim"e*ter (?), n. [Pelvis + -meter.: cf. F. pelvimËtre.] An instrument for measuring the dimensions of the pelvis. Coxe.

Pel"vis (?), n. [L., a basin, laver; cf. Gr. &?;, &?;, bowl.] 1. (Anat.) The pelvic arch, or the pelvic arch together with the sacrum. See Pelvic arch, under Pelvic, and Sacrum.

2. (Zoˆl.) The calyx of a crinoid.

Pelvis of the kidney (Anat.), the basinlike cavity into which the ureter expands as it joins the kidney.

Pem"mi*can (?), n. [Written also pemican.] 1. Among the North American Indians, meat cut in thin slices, divested of fat, and dried in the sun.

Then on pemican they feasted.

Longfellow.

2. Meat, without the fat, cut in thin slices, dried in the sun, pounded, then mixed with melted fat and sometimes dried fruit, and compressed into cakes or in bags. It contains much nutriment in small compass, and is of great use in long voyages of exploration.

||Pem*phi"gus (?), n. [Nl., fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, a bubble.] (Med.) A ||somewhat rare skin disease, characterized by the development of blebs ||upon different part of the body. Quain.

Pen (?), n. [OE. penne, OF. penne, pene, F. penne, fr. L. penna.] 1. A feather. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. A wing. [Obs.] Milton.

3. An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving.

Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock.

Job xix. 24.

4. Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen. "Those learned pens." Fuller.

5. (Zoˆl.) The internal shell of a squid.

6. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoˆl.) A female swan. [Prov. Eng.]

Bow pen. See Bow-pen. -- Dotting pen, a pen for drawing dotted lines. -- Drawing, or Ruling, pen, a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained. -- Fountain pen, Geometric pen. See under Fountain, and Geometric. -- Music pen, a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff. -- Pen and ink, or pen- and-ink, executed or done with a pen and ink; as, a pen and ink sketch. -- Pen feather. A pin feather. [Obs.] -- Pen name. See under Name. -- Sea pen (Zoˆl.), a pennatula. [Usually written sea- pen.]

Pen, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Penning (?).] To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. "A prayer elaborately penned." Milton.

Pen, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned (?) or Pent (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] [OE. pennen, AS. pennan in on-pennan to unfasten, prob. from the same source as pin, and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See Pin, n. & v.] To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose. "Away with her, and pen her up." Shak.

Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve.

Milton.

Pen, n. [From Pen to shut in.] A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs.

My father stole two geese out of a pen.

Shak.

Pe"nal (?), a. [L. poenalis, fr. poena punishment: cf. F. pÈnal. See Pain.] Of or pertaining to punishment, to penalties, or to crimes and offenses; pertaining to criminal jurisprudence: as: (a) Enacting or threatening punishment; as, a penal statue; the penal code. (b) Incurring punishment; subject to a penalty; as, a penalact of offense. (c) Inflicted as punishment; used as a means of punishment; as, a penal colony or settlement. "Adamantine chains and penal fire." Milton.

Penal code (Law), a code of laws concerning crimes and offenses and their punishment. -- Penal laws, Penal statutes (Law), laws prohibited certain acts, and imposing penalties for committing them. -- Penal servitude, imprisonment with hard labor, in a prison, in lieu of transportation. [Great Brit.] -- Penal suit, Penal action (Law), a suit for penalties.

Pe*nal"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. LL. poenalitas. See Penalty.] The quality or state of being penal; lability to punishment. Sir T. Browne.

Pe"nal*ize (?), v. t. 1. To make penal.

2. (Sport.) To put a penalty on. See Penalty, 3. [Eng.]

Pe"nal*ly (?), adv. In a penal manner.

Pe"nal*ty (?), n.; pl. Penalties (#). [F. pÈnalitÈ. See Penal.] 1. Penal retribution; punishment for crime or offense; the suffering in person or property which is annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime, offense, or trespass.

Death is the penalty imposed.

Milton.

2. The suffering, or the sum to be forfeited, to which a person subjects himself by covenant or agreement, in case of nonfulfillment of stipulations; forfeiture; fine.

The penalty and forfeit of my bond.

Shak.

3. A handicap. [Sporting Cant]

The term penalty is in law mostly applied to a pecuniary punishment.

Bill of pains and penalties. See under Bill. -- On, or Under, penalty of, on pain of; with exposure to the penalty of, in case of transgression.

Pen"ance (?), n. [OF. penance, peneance, L. paenitentia repentance. See Penitence.] 1. Repentance. [Obs.] Wyclif (Luke xv. 7).

2. Pain; sorrow; suffering. [Obs.] "Joy or penance he feeleth none." Chaucer.

3. (Eccl.) A means of repairing a sin committed, and obtaining pardon for it, consisting partly in the performance of expiatory rites, partly in voluntary submission to a punishment corresponding to the transgression. Penance is the fourth of seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Schaff- Herzog Encyc.

And bitter penance, with an iron whip.

Spenser.

Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, And penance more will do."

Coleridge.

Pen"ance, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penanced (?).] To impose penance; to punish. "Some penanced lady elf." Keats.

Pen"ance*less, a. Free from penance. [R.]

Pe*nang" nut` (?). [From the native name.] (Bot.) The betel nut. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

Pen*an"nu*lar (?), a. [L. pene, paene, almost + E. annular.] Nearly annular; having nearly the form of a ring. "Penannular relics." D. Wilson.

Pe"na*ry (?), a. Penal. [Obs.] Gauden.

||Pe*na"tes (?), n. pl. [L.] (Rom. Antiq.) The household gods of the ||ancient Romans. They presided over the home and the family hearth. ||See Lar.

Pen"aunt (?), n. [OF. penant, peneant. See Penitent.] A penitent. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pence (?), n., pl. of Penny. See Penny.

Pen"cel (?), n. [See Pennoncel.] A small, narrow flag or streamer borne at the top of a lance; -- called also pennoncel. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. Chaucer.

||Pen`chant" (?), n. [F., fr. pencher to bend, fr. (assumed) LL. ||pendicare, L. pendere. See Pendant.] Inclination; decided taste; ||bias; as, a penchant for art.

Pen"chute` (?), n. See Penstock.

Pen"cil (?), n. [OF. pincel, F. pinceau, L. penicillum, penicillus, equiv. to peniculus, dim. of penis a tail. Cf. Penicil.] 1. A small, fine brush of hair or bristles used by painters for laying on colors.

With subtile pencil depainted was this storie.

Chaucer.

2. A slender cylinder or strip of black lead, colored chalk, slate etc., or such a cylinder or strip inserted in a small wooden rod intended to be pointed, or in a case, which forms a handle, -- used for drawing or writing. See Graphite.

3. Hence, figuratively, an artist's ability or peculiar manner; also, in general, the act or occupation of the artist, descriptive writer, etc.

4. (Opt.) An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.

5. (Geom.) A number of lines that intersect in one point, the point of intersection being called the pencil point.

6. (Med.) A small medicated bougie.

Pencil case, a holder for pencil lead. - - Pencil flower (Bot.), an American perennial leguminous herb (Stylosanthes elatior). -- Pencil lead, a slender rod of black lead, or the like, adapted for insertion in a holder.

Pen"cil, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penciled (?) or Pencilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Penciling or Pencilling.] To write or mark with a pencil; to paint or to draw. Cowper.

Where nature pencils butterflies on flowers.

Harte.

Pen"ciled (?), a. [Written also pencilled.] 1. Painted, drawn, sketched, or marked with a pencil.

2. Radiated; having pencils of rays.

3. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with parallel or radiating lines.

Pen"cil*ing (?), n. [Written also pencilling.] 1. The work of the pencil or bruch; as, delicate penciling in a picture.

2. (Brickwork) Lines of white or black paint drawn along a mortar joint in a brick wall. Knight.

{ Pen"cil*late (?), Pen"cil*la`ted (?), } a. Shaped like a pencil; penicillate.

Pen"craft (?), n. 1. Penmanship; skill in writing; chirography.

2. The art of composing or writing; authorship.

I would not give a groat for that person's knowledge in pencraft.

Sterne.

<! p. 1060 !>

Pend (?), n. Oil cake; penock. [India]

Pend, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pended; p. pr. & vb. n. Pending.] [L. pendere.] 1. To hang; to depend. [R.]

Pending upon certain powerful motions.

I. Taylor.

2. To be undecided, or in process of adjustment.

Pend, v. t. [Cf. pen to shut in, or AS. pyndan, E. pound an inclosure.] To pen; to confine. [R.]

ended within the limits . . . of Greece.

Udall.

Pend"ant (?), n. [F., orig. p. pr. of pendre to hang, L. pendere. Cf. Pendent, Pansy, Pensive, Poise, Ponder.] 1. Something which hangs or depends; something suspended; a hanging appendage, especially one of an ornamental character; as to a chandelier or an eardrop; also, an appendix or addition, as to a book.

Some hang upon the pendants of her ear.

Pope.

Many . . . have been pleased with this work and its pendant, the Tales and Popular Fictions.

Keightley.

2. (Arch.) A hanging ornament on roofs, ceilings, etc., much used in the later styles of Gothic architecture, where it is of stone, and an important part of the construction. There are imitations in plaster and wood, which are mere decorative features. "[A bridge] with . . . pendants graven fair." Spenser.

3. (Fine Arts) One of a pair; a counterpart; as, one vase is the pendant to the other vase.

4. A pendulum. [Obs.] Sir K. Digby.

5. The stem and ring of a watch, by which it is suspended. [U.S.] Knight.

Pendant post (Arch.), a part of the framing of an open timber roof; a post set close against the wall, and resting upon a corbel or other solid support, and supporting the ends of a collar beam or any part of the roof.

Pend"ence (?), n. [See Pendent.] Slope; inclination. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.

Pend"en*cy (?), n. 1. The quality or state of being pendent or suspended.

2. The quality or state of being undecided, or in continuance; suspense; as, the pendency of a suit. Ayliffe.

Pend"ent (?), a. [L. pendens, -entis, p. pr. of pendere to hang, to be suspended. Cf. Pendant.] 1. Supported from above; suspended; depending; pendulous; hanging; as, a pendent leaf. "The pendent world." Shak.

Often their tresses, when shaken, with pendent icicles tinkle.

Longfellow.

2. Jutting over; projecting; overhanging. "A vapor sometime like a . . . pendent rock." Shak.

Pen*den"tive (?), n. [F. pendentif, fr. L. pendere to hang.] (Arch.) (a) The portion of a vault by means of which the square space in the middle of a building is brought to an octagon or circle to receive a cupola. (b) The part of a groined vault which is supported by, and springs from, one pier or corbel.

Pend"ent*ly, adv. In a pendent manner.

Pen"dice (?), n. [Cf. Pentice.] A sloping roof; a lean-to; a penthouse. [Obs.] Fairfax.

Pen"di*cle (?), n. [Cf. Appendicle.] An appendage; something dependent on another; an appurtenance; a pendant. Sir W. Scott.

Pen*di*cler (?), n. An inferior tenant; one who rents a pendicle or croft. [Scot.] Jamieson.

Pend"ing (?), a. [L. pendere to hang, to be suspended. Cf. Pendent.] Not yet decided; in continuance; in suspense; as, a pending suit.

Pend"ing, prep. During; as, pending the trail.

Pen"drag*on (?), n. A chief leader or a king; a head; a dictator; -- a title assumed by the ancient British chiefs when called to lead other chiefs.

The dread Pendragon, Britain's king of kings.

Tennyson.

Pen"du*lar (?), a. Pendulous.

Pen"du*late (?), v. i. To swing as a pendulum. [R.]

Pen"dule (?), n. [F.] A pendulum. [R.] Evelyn.

||Pen"du`line (?), n. [F. See Pendulum.] (Zoˆl.) A European titmouse ||(Parus, or ∆githalus, pendulinus). It is noted for its elegant ||pendulous purselike nest, made of the down of willow trees and lined ||with feathers.

Pen`du*los"i*ty (?), n. [See Pendulous.] The state or quality of being pendulous. Sir T. Browne.

Pen"du*lous (?), a. [L. pendulus, fr. pendere to hang. Cf. Pendant, and cf. Pendulum.] 1. Depending; pendent loosely; hanging; swinging. Shak. "The pendulous round earth." Milton.

2. Wavering; unstable; doubtful. [R.] "A pendulous state of mind." Atterbury.

3. (Bot.) Inclined or hanging downwards, as a flower on a recurved stalk, or an ovule which hangs from the upper part of the ovary.

Pen"du*lous*ly, adv. In a pendulous manner.

Pen"du*lous*ness, n. The quality or state of being pendulous; the state of hanging loosely; pendulosity.

Pen"du*lum (?), n.; pl. Pendulums (#). [NL., fr. L. pendulus hanging, swinging. See Pendulous.] A body so suspended from a fixed point as to swing freely to and fro by the alternate action of gravity and momentum. It is used to regulate the movements of clockwork and other machinery.

The time of oscillation of a pendulum is independent of the arc of vibration, provided this arc be small.

Ballistic pendulum. See under Ballistic. -- Compensation pendulum, a clock pendulum in which the effect of changes of temperature of the length of the rod is so counteracted, usually by the opposite expansion of differene metals, that the distance of the center of oscillation from the center of suspension remains invariable; as, the mercurial compensation pendulum, in which the expansion of the rod is compensated by the opposite expansion of mercury in a jar constituting the bob; the gridiron pendulum, in which compensation is effected by the opposite expansion of sets of rodsof different metals. -- Compound pendulum, an ordinary pendulum; -- so called, as being made up of different parts, and contrasted with simple pendulum. -- Conical or Revolving, pendulum, a weight connected by a rod with a fixed point; and revolving in a horizontal cyrcle about the vertical from that point. -- Pendulum bob, the weight at the lower end of a pendulum. -- Pendulum level, a plumb level. See under Level. -- Pendulum wheel, the balance of a watch. -- Simple or Theoretical, pendulum, an imaginary pendulum having no dimensions except length, and no weight except at the center of oscillation; in other words, a material point suspended by an ideal line.

||Pe*nel"o*pe (p*nl"*p), n. [From. L. Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, ||the hero of the Odyssey, Gr. Phnelo`ph.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of ||curassows, including the guans.

Pen`e*tra*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. pÈnÈtrabilitÈ.] The quality of being penetrable; susceptibility of being penetrated, entered, or pierced. Cheyne.

Pen"e*tra*ble (?), a. [L. penetrabilus: cf. F. pÈnÈtrable.] Capable of being penetrated, entered, or pierced. Used also figuratively.

And pierce his only penetrable part.

Dryden.

I am not made of stones, But penetrable to your kind entreats.

Shak.

-- Pen"e*tra*ble*ness, n. -- Pen"e*tra*bly, adv.

Pen"e*trail (?), n. Penetralia. [Obs.] Harvey.

||Pen`e*tra"li*a (?), n. pl. [L., fr. penetralis penetrating, internal. ||See Penetrate.] 1. The recesses, or innermost parts, of any thing or ||place, especially of a temple or palace.

2. Hidden things or secrets; privacy; sanctuary; as, the sacred penetralia of the home.

{ Pen"e*trance (?), Pen"e*tran*cy (?), } n. The quality or state of being penetrant; power of entering or piercing; penetrating power of quality; as, the penetrancy of subtile effluvia.

Pen"e*trant (?), a. [L. penetrans, p. pr. of penetrare: cf. F. pÈnÈtrant.] Having power to enter or pierce; penetrating; sharp; subtile; as, penetrant cold. "Penetrant and powerful arguments." Boyle.

Pen"e*trate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penetrated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Penetrating.] [L. penetratus, p. p. of penetrare to penetrate; akin to penitus inward, inwardly, and perh. to pens with, in the power of, penus store of food, innermost part of a temple.] 1. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness.

2. To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to touch with feeling; to make sensible; to move deeply; as, to penetrate one's heart with pity. Shak.

The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style.

M. Arnold.

3. To pierce into by the mind; to arrive at the inner contents or meaning of, as of a mysterious or difficult subject; to comprehend; to understand.

Things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate.

Ray.

Pen"e*trate, v. i. To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively.

Preparing to penetrate to the north and west.

J. R. Green.

Born where Heaven's influence scarce can penetrate.

Pope.

The sweet of life that penetrates so near.

Daniel.

Pen"e*tra`ting (?), a. 1. Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading; sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor.

2. Acute; discerning; sagacious; quick to discover; as, a penetrating mind.

Pen"e*tra`ting*ly, adv. In a penetrating manner.

Pen"e*tra`tion (?), n. [L. penetratio: cf. F. pÈnÈtration.] 1. The act or process of penetrating, piercing, or entering; also, the act of mentally penetrating into, or comprehending, anything difficult.

And to each in ward part, With gentle penetration, though unseen, Shoots invisible virtue even to the deep.

Milton.

A penetration into the difficulties of algebra.

Watts.

2. Acuteness; insight; sharp discoverment; sagacity; as, a person of singular penetration. Walpole.

Syn. -- Discernment; sagacity; acuteness; sharpness; discrimination. See Discernment, and Sagacity.

Pen"e*tra*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈnÈtratif.] 1. Tending to penetrate; of a penetrating quality; piercing; as, the penetrative sun.

His look became keen and penetrative.

Hawthorne.

2. Having the power to affect or impress the mind or heart; impressive; as, penetrative shame. Shak.

3. Acute; discerning; sagacious; as, penetrative wisdom. "The penetrative eye." Wordsworth.

Led on by skill of penetrative soul.

Grainger.

Pen"e*tra*tive*ness, n. The quality of being penetrative.

Pen"fish` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A squid.

Pen"fold` (?), n. See Pinfold.

Pen"go*lin (?), n. (Zoˆl.)The pangolin.

Pen"guin (?), n. [Perh. orig. the name of another bird, and fr. W. pen head + gwyn white; or perh. from a native South American name.] 1. (Zoˆl.) Any bird of the order Impennes, or Ptilopteri. They are covered with short, thick feathers, almost scalelike on the wings, which are without true quills. They are unable to fly, but use their wings to aid in diving, in which they are very expert. See King penguin, under Jackass.

Penguins are found in the south temperate and antarctic regions. The king penguins (Aptenodytes Patachonica, and A. longirostris) are the largest; the jackass penguins (Spheniscus) and the rock hoppers (Catarractes) congregate in large numbers at their breeding grounds.

2. (Bot.) The egg-shaped fleshy fruit of a West Indian plant (Bromelia Pinguin) of the Pineapple family; also, the plant itself, which has rigid, pointed, and spiny- toothed leaves, and is used for hedges. [Written also pinguin.]

Arctic penguin (Zoˆl.), the great auk. See Auk.

Pen"guin*er*y (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A breeding place, or rookery, of penguins.

Pen"hold`er (?), n. A handle for a pen.

Pen"house` (?), n. A penthouse. [Obs.]

Pen*i"ble (?), a. [OF. penible. Cf. Painable.] Painstaking; assidous. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pen"i*cil (?), n. [L. penicillum, penicillus, a painter's brush, a roil of lint, a tent for wounds.] (mented.) A tent or pledget for wounds or ulcers.

Pen`i*cil"late (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈnicillÈ. See Penicil.] (Biol.) Having the form of a pencil; furnished with a pencil of fine hairs; ending in a tuft of hairs like a camel's-hair brush, as the stigmas of some grasses.

Pen`i*cil"li*form (?), a. (Bot.) Penicillate.

Pen*in"su*la (?), n. [L. peninsula or paeninsula; paene almost + insula an island. See Isle.] A portion of land nearly surrounded by water, and connected with a larger body by a neck, or isthmus.

Pen*in"su*lar (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈninsulaire.] Of or pertaining to a peninsula; as, a peninsular form; peninsular people; the peninsular war.

Pen*in"su*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peninsulated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Peninsulating.] To form into a peninsula.

South River . . . peninsulates Castle Hill farm.

W. Bentley.

Pe"nis (p"ns), n. [L.] (Anat.) The male member, or organ of generation.

Pen"i*tence (?), n. [F. pÈnitence, L. paenitentia. See Penitent, and cf. Penance.] The quality or condition of being penitent; the disposition of a penitent; sorrow for sins or faults; repentance; contrition. "Penitence of his old guilt." Chaucer.

Death is deferred, and penitenance has room To mitigate, if not reverse, the doom.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Repentance; contrition; compunction.

Pen"i*ten*cer (?), n. [F. pÈnitencier.] A priest who heard confession and enjoined penance in extraordinary cases. [Written also penitenser.] [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pen"i*ten*cy (?), n. Penitence. [Obs.]

Pen"i*tent (?), a. [F. pÈnitent, L. paenitens, -entis, poenitens, p. pr. of paenitere, poenitere, to cause to repent, to repent; prob. akin to poena punishment. See Pain.] 1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant; contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on amendment of life.

Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite.

Milton.

The pound he tamed, the penitent he cheered.

Dryden.

2. Doing penance. [Obs.] Shak.

Pen"i*tent, n. 1. One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of his transgressions.

2. One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.

3. One under the direction of a confessor.

Penitents is an appellation given to certain fraternities in Roman Catholic countries, distinguished by their habit, and employed in charitable acts.

Pen`i*ten"tial (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈnitentiel.] Of or pertaining to penitence, or to penance; expressing penitence; of the nature of penance; as, the penitential book; penitential tears. "Penitential stripes." Cowper.

Guilt that all the penitential fires of hereafter can not cleanse.

Sir W. Scott.

Pen`i*ten"tial, n. (R. C. Ch.) A book formerly used by priests hearing confessions, containing rules for the imposition of penances; -- called also penitential book.

Pen`i*ten"tial*ly, adv. In a penitential manner.

Pen`i*ten"tia*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. pÈnitentiaire.] 1. Relating to penance, or to the rules and measures of penance. "A penitentiary tax." Abp. Bramhall.

2. Expressive of penitence; as, a penitentiary letter.