To cause someone to suffer a penalty for breaking a rule or doing something wrong.
From Old French 'puniss-' and Latin 'punire' meaning 'to cause pain' or 'to fine.' Related to 'pain' and describing the infliction of consequence.
The idea of punishment goes way back to human societies needing to enforce rules, but interestingly, modern psychology shows punishing bad behavior is often less effective than rewarding good behavior!
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