Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Penitence

Penitence , noun

[French pénitence, Latin paenitentia. See Penitent, and compare Penance.]

The quality or condition of being penitent; the disposition of a penitent; sorrow for sins or faults; repentance; contrition.
Penitence of his old guilt. — Chaucer
Death is deferred, and penitenance has room To mitigate, if not reverse, the doom. — Dryden