To prick or sting; to cause guilt or remorse (archaic/rare usage).
From Latin 'compunctus', past participle of 'compungere' (to prick or sting together). The root 'pungere' means to pierce, and the metaphorical sense of a guilty conscience being 'pricked' gave rise to the connection with remorse.
This word beautifully preserves an ancient metaphor: the Romans imagined guilt as a physical puncture wound to the soul, and that exact image echoes today when we say someone has a 'pang' of conscience—from the same root word.
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