wergild
Americannoun
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(in Anglo-Saxon England and other Germanic countries)
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money paid to the relatives of a murder victim in compensation for loss and to prevent a blood feud.
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the amount of money fixed as compensation for the murder or disablement of a person, computed on the basis of rank.
noun
Etymology
Origin of wergild
1175–1225; Middle English ( Scots ) weregylt, Old English wer ( e ) gild, equivalent to wer man (cognate with Gothic wair, Latin vir ) + gild geld 2; cognate with Middle Dutch weergelt, Old High German wergelt; see yield
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Then the troll humbly begged for his life, and said: "Dear Lillwacker, I will give you wergild for your brother, only bid your dogs be still, so that we may talk."
From The Swedish Fairy Book by Various
Within the ceorlisc class we find similar subdivisions, though they were not marked by a difference in wergild.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various
According to a document which probably dates from the 10th century, the wergild of an aetheling was fixed at 15,000 thrymsas, or 11,250 shillings.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
The members of the clan were reciprocally bound to aid, defend, and avenge one another; but wergild was no longer accepted, and the penalty for murder was death.
From The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest by Fiske, John
AElfwine, the brother of Ecgfrith, was slain on this occasion, but at the intervention of Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, AEthelred agreed to pay a wergild for the Northumbrian prince and so prevented further hostilities.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
