wergild

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Related to wergild: compurgation

wer·geld

(wûr′gĕld′) also wer·gild or were·gild (-gĭld′)

In Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law, a price set upon a person's life on the basis of rank and paid as compensation by the family of a slayer to the kindred or lord of a slain person to free the culprit of further punishment or obligation and to prevent a blood feud.

[Middle English wargeld, from Old English wergeld : wer, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots + geld, payment.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wergild

(ˈwɜːˌɡɪld; ˈwɛə-) or

weregild

;

wergeld

(ˈwɜːˌɡɛld; ˈwɛə-)

1. (Law) the price set on a man's life in successive Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law codes, to be paid as compensation by his slayer

2. (Historical Terms) the price set on a man's life in successive Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law codes, to be paid as compensation by his slayer

[Old English wergeld, from wer man (related to Old Norse ver, Latin vir) + gield tribute (related to Gothic gild, Old High German gelt payment); see yield]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wer•gild

or were•gild

(ˈwɜr gɪld, ˈwɛr-)

also wer•geld

(-gɛld)

n.

(in Anglo-Saxon England and medieval Germanic countries) a compensatory fine paid to the relatives of a murdered person to free the offender from further obligations or punishment.

[1175–1225; Middle English (Scots) weregylt, Old English wer(e)gild=wer man (c. Gothic wair, Latin vir) + gild geld²; see yield]

weregild, wergild

(in Anglo-Saxon society) a payment made to the family of a slain man by his killer or the killer’s family as compensation, atonement, and to avoid reprisals.