What is the difference between a jail and a penitentiary?
If you wish to avoid ambiguity in use you should use prison for serious crimes with longer sentences, and jail for less serious crimes, or for detention awaiting trial. And penitentiary, when referring to a hoosegow, often has the specific meaning of “a state or federal prison in the U.S.”
What is the significance of the word penitentiary?
Penitentiary comes from the Latin paenitentia, meaning “repentance.” A penitentiary is a place you are sent to make repentance for a crime committed. Penitentiary can also be used as an adjective to describe something done to show penance, as in the penitentiary scarlet “A” on Hester Prynne’s chest.
What is a penitentiary hold?
A prison or penitentiary holds people for longer periods of time, such as many years, and is operated by a state or federal government. A jail holds people for shorter periods of time (e.g. for shorter sentences or pre-trial detention) and is usually operated by a local government, typically the county sheriff.
When did gaol become jail?
Both gaol and jail are borrowed from French. The first borrowing, gaol, came with the Norman Conquest when a lot of Norman French words to do with law and politics and governance were introduced into English. The second borrowing, jail, came about three centuries later from Parisian French.
Who introduced the term penitentiary?
Etymology. From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”), from Latin paenitentia (“penitence”), term used by the Quakers in Pennsylvania during the 1790s, describing a place for penitents to dwell upon their sins.
Where did the term penitentiary come from?
It comes from the Medieval Latin pēnitēntiārius, from Latin paenitēns, meaning “penitent.” Penitent can mean “expressing sorrow or remorse for an offense” or “a person who expresses such remorse.” Penitentiary, penitent, penance, and repent are all related to the Latin verb paenitēre, meaning “to regret” or “to be …
Who uses gaol?
Perhaps there’s good reason that the Australian affinity for gaol lingered longer than it did even in Britain: the spelling ‘gaol’ has, in the words of the Macquarie Dictionary, been ‘fossilised in names’. From Ballarat to Perth, Australia has many gaols baked into its toponymic landscape.