[pen-uh
ns] 
| 1. | a punishment undergone in token of penitence for sin. |
| 2. | a penitential discipline imposed by church authority. |
| 3. | a sacrament, as in the Roman Catholic Church, consisting in a confession of sin, made with sorrow and with the intention of amendment, followed by the forgiveness of the sin. |
| pen·ance (pěn'əns) n.
To impose penance upon. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitentia, penitence, from paenitēns, paenitent-, penitent; see penitent.] |