noun- Summary, careless treatment; scant attention: These annoying memos will get short shrift from the boss.
- Quick work.
a. A short respite, as from death.
b. The brief time before execution granted a condemned prisoner for confession and absolution.
Word History: To be given short shrift is not the blessing it once was. The source of our verb
shrive (shrove, shriven) and noun
shrift, which have technical meanings from ecclesiastical Latin, is Classical Latin
scrībere, “to write.”
Shrive comes from the Old English verb
scrīfan, “to decree, decree after judgment, impose a penance upon (a penitent), hear the confession of.” The past participle of
scrīfan is
scrifen, our
shriven. The noun
shrift, “penance; absolution,” comes from Old English
scrift with the same meaning, which comes from
scrīptus, the perfect passive participle of
scrībere, and means “what is written,” or, to use the Latin word, “what is prescribed.” Theologians and confessors viewed the sacrament of penance as a prescription that cured a moral illness. In early medieval times penances were long and arduous—lengthy pilgrimages and even lifelong exile were not uncommon—and had to be performed
before absolution, not after as today. However, less demanding penances could be given in extreme situations;
short shrift was a brief penance given to a person condemned to death so that absolution could be granted before execution.
