Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The study, theory, and practice of prison management and criminal rehabilitation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The study of punishment for crime, both in its deterrent and in its reformatory aspect; the study of the management of prisons.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The science or art of punishment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Study of the processes devised and adopted for the punishment and prevention of crime.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the branch of criminology concerned with prison management and prisoner rehabilitation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin poena, penalty (from Greek poinē; see kwei- in Indo-European roots) + –logy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ποινή (poinē, "punishment") and -λογία (‐logía, "branch of study”, “to speak").

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Examples

  • People who complain about the mildness of modern punishment, about “coddling” criminals, never seem to recall that modern penology is just that, modern.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » A Creative Proposal for Reducing Prison Rape 2010

  • A great advance has been made in penology by organization and annual conventions.

    Scientific Colonization—A Suggestion 1912

  • It may well be that 12 years of philosophy and prison have made me daft or corrupt or both, but after I have given my paper I have lunch with Jason and he tells me that it was a bit like Adorno, whom I haven't read but he has, and then he explains to me Hobbes's notion of diffidence and how he is applying it to modern ideas in penology.

    A key to happiness for prisoners with little future Alan Smith 2010

  • This made my job doubly difficult; and I was one hundred per cent novice in penology.

    Prison Progress 1922

  • That part which deals with the social treatment of the criminal class is generally called penology, while the subdivision which treats of dependents and defectives is generally known as "charities" or "charitology."

    Sociology and Modern Social Problems 1909

  • As the daughter of Robert Gillis, a career state corrections department employee, she knew the region's prisons were not models of enlightened penology.

    Reporter: 44 days in captivity in Libya 'insane' 2011

  • Thereafter, under his successors also, prisoners demonstrate the sincerity of their conversion before being returned to the street, which is always the last resort of politicized penology.

    Magic and Mayhem Derek Leebaert 2010

  • People who complain about the mildness of modern punishment, about “coddling” criminals, never seem to recall that modern penology is just that, modern.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » A Creative Proposal for Reducing Prison Rape 2010

  • In addition to the notable impact her work and writing had on the field of penology, Menken effected change on a more personal level.

    Alice Davis Menken. 2009

  • Alice Davis Menken stood at the forefront of what her New York Times obituary calls “the evolution of penology from an attitude of sentimentality and punishment to the broader conception of mercy and rehabilitation.”

    Alice Davis Menken. 2009

Comments

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  • One of the most disappointing definitions ever. Hands up all who hoped for another penis word to giggle at? *raises hand*

    August 7, 2008