2006-10-15 01:09:17 · 4 answers · asked by bundyal38 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
PENAL : Of, relating to, or prescribing punishment, as for breaking the law.
Subject to punishment; legally punishable: a penal offense.
Serving as or constituting a means or place of punishment: penal servitude; a penal colony.
COLONY: A group of people who have been institutionalized in a relatively remote area: an island penal colony.
the words are the dictionary's words & discription of a group of people being punished for breaking the law and that is all.
it just sounds a but funny because penal sounds alot like....well, you get the piont.
2006-10-15 01:21:36 · answer #1 · answered by eyepopping hideous female troll 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Firstly, I'm not sure any prison is called a penal 'colony'; that phrase is more usually used for a place where criminals are deported to, e.g. in Australia during historical 'transportation' of convicts.
The word 'penal' refers to punishment for a crime; the words 'penalise', 'penalty', 'penitentiary' and 'penance' are from the same root.
From the fact that you asked specifically about 'women's' prisons, I wonder if you are confusing the word 'penal' with 'penile', meaning 'of or pertaining to the penis'?
2006-10-15 01:21:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually the term isn't restricted to women's prisons- it refers to any prison located in a remote area. Of course nowadays we don't really build fortesses in the middle of wilderness islands and dump society's undesirables there- but back in the British & French colonial days, things were different.
Now, for the common usage of the term- why some twisted minds equate bad girls needing to be, er- penalized... that I don't know. Some cunning linguist probably stayed up too late and arrived at that cockamaney colloquialism...
2006-10-15 01:15:40 · answer #3 · answered by C-Man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It may come from the word "penance".
2006-10-15 01:14:27 · answer #4 · answered by Scorpius59 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋