wergild

American  

[wur-gild, wer-] / ˈwɜr gɪld, ˈwɛr- /

Also wergeld

noun

1. (in Anglo-Saxon England and other Germanic countries)

2. money paid to the relatives of a murder victim in compensation for loss and to prevent a blood feud.

3. the amount of money fixed as compensation for the murder or disablement of a person, computed on the basis of rank.

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wergild British  

/ ˈwɜːˌɡɛld, ˈwɛə-, ˈwɜːˌɡɪld, ˈwɛə- /

noun

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

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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

Such rudimentary wergild was often reckoned in wampum, or strings of beads made of a kind of mussel shell, and put to divers uses, as personal ornament, mnemonic record, and finally money.

From The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest by Fiske, John

This wergild is equal to that of an archbishop and one-half of that of a king.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

In Kent his wergild was considerably higher, and his status probably also, but his position in this kingdom is a matter of controversy.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

Under the Merovingians it was a hierarchy wherein grades were marked by the varied scale of the wergild, a man being worth anything from thirty to six Disruption of the social framework. hundred gold pieces.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 7 "Fox, George" to "France" by Various

Horse offered as wergild by Thorbiorn to Howard, 107 Dover.

From Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race by Ebbutt, M. I. (Maud Isabel)