different between repentance vs repent

English

Alternative forms

• repentaunce (archaic)

Etymology

First attested circa 14th century, from Old French repentance. More at repent.

Pronunciation

• enPR: [r?-p?n?t?ns], IPA^(key): /???p?nt?ns/
• Hyphenation: re?pen?tance

Noun

repentance (countable and uncountable, plural repentances)

1. The condition of being penitent.
   • 1678, Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, second period

     God hath denied me repentance. His words gives me no encouragement to believe.

2. A feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning.

Synonyms

• compunction
• contrition
• penitence
• remorse
• See also Thesaurus:remorse

Related terms

• repent
• repentant
• repentantly
• repented
• repenting

Translations

Anagrams

• penetrance

French

Etymology

Old French

Noun

repentance f (plural repentances)

1. repentance

Related terms

• repentir

Further reading

• “repentance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French repentance

Noun

repentance f (plural repentances)

1. repentance

Related terms

• repentir

Old French

Etymology

From Latin.

Noun

repentance f (nominative singular repentance)

1. repentance

Descendants

• English: repentance
• French: repentance

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French repentir, from Vulgar Latin *repoenitere, from re- + a late derivative of poenitere (“be penitent”), alteration of Latin paenitere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???p?nt/
• Rhymes: -?nt

Verb

repent (third-person singular simple present repents, present participle repenting, simple past and past participle repented)

1. (intransitive) To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".
2. (theology, intransitive) To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to practice sin and to love.
3. (transitive) To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow.
4. (transitive) To be sorry for, to regret.

5. (archaic, transitive) To cause to have sorrow or regret.

   • at that time she wolde nat, she seyde, for she was syke and myght nat ryde. "That me repentith," seyde the kynge […].
6. (obsolete, reflexive) To cause (oneself) to feel pain or regret.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Again?t venemous tongues enpoy?oned with ?claunder and fal?e detractions &c.:

     But if that I knewe what his name hight,
     For clatering of me I would him ?one quight;
     For his fal?e lying, of that I ?pake never,
     I could make him ?hortly repent him forever: […]

Synonyms

• afterthink
• regret
• rue

Derived terms

• marry in haste, repent at leisure

Related terms

• penance
• repentance
• repentant
• penitence
• penitent
• unrepentable

Translations

Etymology 2

From Latin r?p?ns, present participle of r?p? (“I creep”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??i?p?nt/

Adjective

repent

1. (chiefly botany) Creeping along the ground.

Synonyms

• reptant

References

• repent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• repent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

French

Verb

repent

1. third-person singular present indicative of repentir

Latin

Verb

r?pent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of r?p?