penance (penans)

[Early mod. E. also pen nance, penaunce; And I seye to you, so joye schal be in heuene on o synful man doinge penaunce ["that repenteth," A. V.] more than on nynty and nyne iuste that han no nede to penaunce ["need no repentance," A. V.] Wyclif , Luke xv. 7. 2. Sorrow for sin shown by outward acts; self punishment expre ive of penitence or repentance; the suffering to which a person voluntarily subjects himself, as by fasting, flagellation, self-imposed tasks, etc., as an expre ion of penitence; the outward acts by which sor row for sin is shown. Penal statutes. (a) Those statutes which impose penalties or punishments for offenses committed. (b) In a more general sense, those Penance is only the Punishment inflicted, not Penitence, which is the right word. Selden , Table-Talk, p. 83. Pa inge purgatorie pen a unce les for here parfit by-leyne. Piers Plowman (C), xil. 296.