Example: Il faut respecter les règles sous peine de sanctions sévères.
Definition
"Sous peine de" is a French expression used to indicate that an action must be taken or avoided to prevent a specific negative consequence, often a penalty or punishment, as in the example: rules must be followed "sous peine de" severe sanctions.
Translations
On pain of
Bajo pena de
Op straffe van
Sota pena de
Bei Androhung von
Etymology
The phrase "sous peine de" originates from Old French, where 'peine' meant punishment or penalty. Literally translated, it means 'under penalty of.' It has been used historically in legal and formal contexts to warn about consequences of non-compliance.
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"Sous peine de" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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On pain of