# penal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpiːnəl/ · frequency rank #15,878

## Definitions
1. Of or relating to punishment.
2. Subject to punishment; punishable.
3. Serving as a place of punishment.
4. Exorbitant.

## Etymology
From Old French peinal, from Medieval Latin penalis, from Latin poenalis, from poena (“punishment”), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “punishment”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

## Easily confused with
- **Penn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penn)
- **pens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-pens)
- **peng** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-peng)
- **Perl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-perl)
- **penny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penny)
- **penis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penis)
- **pence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-pence)
- **peril** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-peril)
- **petal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-petal)
- **pencil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-pencil)
- **Penang** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penang)
- **penile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penile)
- **phenol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-phenol)
- **penalty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penal-vs-penalty)
- **pen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pen-vs-penal)
- **PAL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pal-vs-penal)
- **pea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pea-vs-penal)
- **peak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peak-vs-penal)
- **peel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peel-vs-penal)
- **peas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peas-vs-penal)

## Common misspellings (7)
`epnal`, `peanl`, `penall`, `penla`, `pennal`, `pneal`, `ppenal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/penal