poena damni

noun

The pain caused by a sense of loss.

OriginLate Latin poena damni ← Classical Latin poena →
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Meanings

nounpoena damni (uncountable)
  1. uncountablelifestyleThe pain caused by a sense of loss.

    [T]his is the greatest torment which the created soul is capable of bearing, pœna damni, the pain of loss.

    1916, James Joyce, chapter III, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Classical Latinpoena“penalty, punishment”
  2. Late Latinpoena damni
  3. Englishpoena damni

From Late Latin poena damni, from Classical Latin poena (“penalty, punishment”) + genitive of damnum (“loss”).

More words from Late Latin, Classical Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

poena damni. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poena%20damni

MLA

“poena damni.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poena%20damni. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poena damni,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poena%20damni.

Source: poena damni on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.