Table of Contents
Definition of Penology
(noun) The branch of criminology concerned with prisons and prisoners.
Example of Penology
- Interviewing prisoners on conditions at the facility they are in.
Penology Pronunciation
Syllabification: pe·nol·o·gy
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /pi-nAHl-uh-jee/
- British English – /pee-nOl-uh-jee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /piˈnɑlədʒi/
- British English – /piːˈnɒlədʒi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: penologies
- Variant spelling: poenology
- A (noun) penologist studies (adjective) penologic or (adjective) penologistic or (adjective) penological data to understand prisons (adverb) penologically.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Crime and Law Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “penology” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Briggs, Steven M., and Joan Friedman. 2009. Criminology For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Siegel, Larry J., and Clemens Bartollas. 2011. Corrections Today. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2012. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 13th ed. Belmont: CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2013. Essentials of Criminal Justice. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Penology
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “penology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/penology/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
penology. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/penology/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “penology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/penology/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“penology.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/penology/>.