wergeld
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
Middle English wergeld, from Old English wergeld, compound of wer (“man”), + geld (“payment”).
[edit] Noun
wergeld (plural wergelds)
- (archaic) In Anglo-Saxon and Frisian customary law, a reparative payment, usually demanded by the surviving kindred of a person guilty of homicide, according to the victim's rank.
- (paganism) recompense. In current usage in Heathenry.
- The wergild she wants is a night with Balder, to beget his child, but he refuses. (Winifred Hodge)
[edit] Translations
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
