adj.
feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong.
n.
a person who repents their sins.
▸(in the Roman Catholic Church) a person who confesses their sins to a priest and submits to the penance that he imposes.
Derivative
- penitence n.
- penitential adj.
- penitently adv.
Etymology
ME: from OFr., from L. paenitent-, paenitere ‘repent’.
