Etymology

penitente

P3E1N1I1T1E1N1T1E1

Today it means: A tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes. Full definition →

Spanish penitente ← Latin paenĭtens
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompaenĭtens
  2. Spanish · borrowed frompenitente
  3. English todaypenitente

Borrowed from Spanish penitente, from the resemblance to white-hooded monks, from Latin paenĭtens, from paeniteō. Doublet of penitent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.