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wergild

[ wur-gild, wer- ]

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.


wergild

/ 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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of wergild1

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; yield
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wergild1

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
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Example Sentences

Within the ceorlisc class we find similar subdivisions, though they were not marked by a difference in wergild.

This step is taken when the State compels the parties to enter into an agreement on the basis of the wergild.

With the institution of wergild the entire matter becomes one of civil law.

He is thus far a person that he has a small wergild but possibly he is bound to the soil.

We may have thegns who are nobodys thegns, or else we may have persons entitled to the thegnly wergild who yet are not thegns.

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