Etymology

punitive

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Today it means: Inflicting punishment; punishing. Full definition →

Middle French punitif ← Medieval Latin pūnitīvus
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived frompūnitīvus
  2. Middle French · borrowed frompunitif
  3. English todaypunitive

From Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“to punish”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.