punish

Where does the word "punish" come from? It comes from Latin punire, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Punish’s story begins in Latin: punire meant “to punish.” From 'poena', penalty, the root of 'pain' and 'penal'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as punir. Its stem 'puniss-' gave the English form. It reached English by 1300s as punish. 'punishing' for exhausting dates from the 1800s. Today, punish means to impose a penalty for an offence.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient punire "to punish", from 'poena', penalty, the root of 'pain' and 'penal'.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval punir "to punish", its stem 'puniss-' gave the English form.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s punish "to penalize", 'punishing' for exhausting dates from the 1800s.