in early Germanic and Anglo-Saxon law, a price paid by a person who has killed another to the family of the person killed, to atone for the killing and avoid reprisals
Origin:
ME weregylt < OE wergild < wer, man (see werewolf) + geld, payment: see geld
See wergeld in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
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.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English wargeld
Origin: , from Old English wergeld
Origin: : wer, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots