Penitence is sorrow for having done wrong. Genuine penitence, show penitence, an act of penitence.
It is the feeling rather than the making up for it, which is penance, and the two words are close relatives that keep quite different jobs. Courts look for it in sentencing under the plainer name of remorse.
1nounpenitenceSorrow for having done wrong.
“The thief wept in court, but the judge doubted his penitence.”
penitence is a sorrow.
Latin paenitentia comes from paenitere, to repent; penance is a doublet.
Proto-Indo-European
*peh₁-
Latin
paenitentia — repentance, penitence
Old French
penitence
Middle English
penitence
English, today
penitence
Built from
First attested circa 13th century, from Middle English penitence, from Old French penitence, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”), from paenitēns (“penitent”), present active participle of paeniteō (“regret, repent”). Equivalent to penitent + -ence. a doublet of penance.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA