wergild

Variant of wergeld

wergeld definition

wer·geld (wʉr′geld′, wer′-)

noun

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
also weregild were′·gild′ or wergild wer′·gild′ (-gild′)

Etymology: ME weregylt < OE wergild < wer, man (see werewolf) + geld, payment: see geld

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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