penalty

Etymology

From Middle French pénalité.

noun

  1. A legal sentence.
    The penalty for his crime was to do hard labor.
  2. A punishment for violating rules of procedure.
  3. (finance) A payment forfeited for an early withdrawal from an account or an investment.
  4. In sports
    1. (soccer) A direct free kick from the penalty spot, taken after a defensive foul in the penalty box; a penalty kick.
    2. (ice hockey) A punishment for an infraction of the rules, often in the form of being removed from play for a specified amount of time.
      A penalty was called when he tripped up his opponent.
  5. A disadvantageous consequence of a previous event.

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