penitente

P3E1N1I1T1E1N1T1E1

noun

A tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes.

OriginSpanish penitente ← Latin paenĭtens →
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Meanings

penitente1

nounpenitente (plural penitentes)

plural penitentes

  1. A tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes.

Penitente2

nounPenitente (plural Penitentes)

plural Penitentes

  1. Any (typically Catholic) practitioner of ritual penance.
    1. A member of the Penitentes (New Mexico), a lay confraternity of Catholic men.

Origin

  1. Latinpaenĭtens
  2. Spanishpenitente
  3. Englishpenitente

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

More words from Spanish, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Büßerschnee, Zackenfirn
  • BüßerschneeA tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes
  • ZackenfirnA tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes
Polish penitent
  • penitentA tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes
Russian кальгаспор
  • кальгаспор (kalʹgaspor)A tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes
Cite this entry
APA

penitente. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitente

MLA

“penitente.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitente. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “penitente,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitente.

Source: penitente on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.