The act or result of chastening; punishment or discipline intended to improve moral behavior.
From 'chasten' plus the suffix '-ment,' which creates nouns describing actions or their results. This formation is older, used in Middle English alongside the more common 'chastening.'
The suffix '-ment' (like in 'punishment,' 'government,' 'punishment') comes from Latin and was incredibly productive in Middle English for creating abstract nouns about actions and their consequences.
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