penal code
9
4.6
- noun
- /ˈpiːnəl koʊd/
- Formal
:
código penal
- Outlining penalties against these actions reinforces the existence of these practices since the penal code consists of punitive measures for illegal behaviors.
- provisions of the penal code
- reform the penal code
- new penal code
Examples
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Are you familiar with the penal code in this county?
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Section 377 of Singapore's penal code proscribes life imprisonment for "carnal intercourse against the order of nature."
Academic text (1997) -
I study the penal code every night.
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Young lady, are you familiar with the penal codes in this state?
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You are in direct violation of Penal Code 114, Section 3.
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'You are in violation of Section 415 of the penal code.'
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Definitions of drug offenses are included in a special section of the penal code.
Academic text (2007) -
The new penal code was enacted after the adoption of the new 1960 constitution.
Academic text (2007) -
In February 2002, Parliament passed another reform package that introduced reforms to the penal code and anti-terrorism law.
Academic text (2005) -
You are in direct violation of Penal Code 114, Section 3.
Synonyms
30
3.4
Rules that say which acts are crimes and how people are punished
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the body of laws that defines crimes and sets out their punishments' is directly derivable from combining 'penal' (relating to punishment) with 'code' (a set of laws). This adjective+noun composition is a standard, compositional legal term and has cognates in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'código penal', French 'code pénal'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Penal code joins penal (about 'punishment') and code (a written set of rules). Long ago, governments put the rules for crimes and their punishments into one book, so today penal code means the 'laws that define crimes and punishments'.