punishment
(ˈpʌnɪʃmənt)
Forms: see punish v.
[a. AF. punisement (13th c. in Britton) = OF. punissement, f. punir to punish: see -ment.]
1. a. The action of punishing or the fact of being punished; the infliction of a penalty in retribution for an offence; also, that which is inflicted as a penalty; a penalty imposed to ensure the application and enforcement of a law.
| [1292 Britton i. ix. §1 Aukun plus simple punisement, solum la manere del fet.] 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. ix. 62 A wonder greuous thynge it semeth to me that..he that hath mysdone shalle passe withoute punysshement. c 1450 Cov. Myst. xi. (Shaks. Soc.) 108 His endles punchement may nevyr sees. 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 53 He was takyn..to the vtmest peynys and ponissement of dethe. 1535 Coverdale Ps. civ. 7 He is the Lorde oure God, whose punyshmentes are thorow out all the worlde. c 1550 Cheke Matt. xxiii. 29 How can ie flie from helles ponischment? 1631 May tr. Barclay's Mirr. Mindes i. 313 He desired that that Army..should take punishment of him for deceiuing the King. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxviii. (1695) 192 We must, wherever we suppose a Law, suppose also some Reward or Punishment annexed to that Rule. 1736 Butler Anal. i. ii. Wks. 1874 I. 40 Divine punishment is what men chiefly object against, and are most unwilling to allow. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 817 The rule now laid down is, that it is the crime and not the punishment, which makes a man infamous. 1875 J. P. Hopps Princ. Relig. x. (1878) 31 There are punishments that are inflicted from without, and punishments that naturally and of necessity grow out of offences. |
b. Psychol. Pain, deprivation, or other unpleasant consequence imposed on or experienced by an organism responding incorrectly under specific conditions so that, through avoidance, the desired learning or behaviour becomes established. Cf. reward n.1 4 f.
| 1907 R. M. Yerkes Dancing Mouse vi. 99 In general, the method of punishment is more satisfactory than the method of reward, because it can be controlled to a greater extent. 1912 [see reward n.1 4 f]. 1949 Woodworth & Marquis Psychol. xvi. 530 Punishment has two important effects. When the child gets a burn from a hot radiator he learns to avoid the radiator. When anyone in following a certain lead to his goal meets with punishment..he tends to shift to another lead. 1953 B. F. Skinner Sci. & Hum. Behav. xii. 185 In solving the problem of punishment we simply ask: What is the effect of withdrawing a positive reinforcer or presenting a negative. 1956 Sci. Amer. Oct 116/3 This finding contradicts the long-held theory that strong excitation in the brain means punishment. 1960 L. M. Baker Gen. Experim. Psychol. xiii. 309 Punishment of undesired behavior soon led to escape activity and satisfactory conditioning in the dog. 1975 Fischer & Gochros Planned Behav. Change iv. 54 No positive reinforcement whatsoever is provided for that behavior (as distinct from negative punishment). Ibid. 56 When..there is a decrease in the probability that the behavior will occur, that stimulus is a negative reinforcer, and the operation is called positive punishment. |
2. slang and colloq. a. Severe handling; belabouring, mauling; orig. that inflicted by a pugilist upon his opponent; extended to football, cricket, and other contests; pain, damage, or loss inflicted (without any retributive or judicial character) as in punish v. 3; also dial. and colloq., pain, suffering, misery: see Eng. Dial. Dict.
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 140/1 Silverthorne, with timidity, arising no doubt from punishment in the first round, kept away from his adversary. 1829 P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. II. 97 Burns was not reduced by the punishment he received. 1846 W. Denison Cricket: Sketches of Players 24 The batsman makes up his mind that he shall administer severe punishment. 1856 H. H. Dixon Post & Paddock xii. 209 The heavy punishment in which Clift and some of the old school delighted, is very much gone out. 1860 Times 18 Apr. 9/4 After these tremendous rounds Sayers still came up fresh, and showed not half the awful marks of punishment visible all over Heenan. 1862 Thackeray Philip iv, Tom Sayers could not take punishment more gaily than they do. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. iii, Stopping to examine his arms and hands, as if to see what punishment he has received in the Fight. 1882 Daily Tel. 19 May, The punishment Hill [the bowler] was receiving caused Bates to relieve him at 26. 1884 St. James' Gaz. 11 Dec. 10/1 He can ride horse or camel from early morning till late at night without showing punishment. 1885 Ld. Wolseley in Times 22 Jan. 5/4 While severe punishment was being inflicted on enemy by all other parts of square. 1929 Morning Post 13 July 11/1 Too cautious play, during which loose stuff escaped punishment. 1930 Daily Express 6 Oct. 11/5 He took most of the punishment in the first round. 1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar viii. 69 Now he looked stupid, like a boxer who is taking too much punishment. |
b. Of materials, machinery, etc.: excessive use or rough handling.
| 1930 Engineering 11 Apr. 473/3 Steel from which a boiler tube is manufactured should have the following qualities:—It must be capable of withstanding severe punishment during manufacture and also when being rolled into a tube plate and belled. 1955 Times 17 May 18/3 Only the finest film-strength oils can withstand the punishment a tractor engine receives. |
3. attrib. and Comb.
| 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 120 All punishment drill is to be carried on in the Barrack-Yard or Drill-Ground. 1897 E. L. Voynich Gadfly (1904) 35/2 He remembered the ‘punishment cell’, and descended the ladder, shrugging his shoulders. 1905 Macm. Mag. Nov. 34 The rule that a punishment-book should be kept was established in the Navy. Ibid., Croker..told a young captain that the Admiralty did not like officers who had a long punishment-list. 1916 W. Owen Let. 14 Mar. (1967) 385 Inspections, punishment parades, & more inspections. 1946 R. Campbell Talking Bronco 16 Rather a punishment-parade For friend and enemy alike. 1958 J. Townsend Young Devils vi. 54 In one year more than five hundred canings had been officially entered in the punishment book. 1968 L. Berg Risinghill 61 Risinghill, like every school, has a Punishment Book. |