wergield
Old English
Alternative forms
- werġild, werġyld, werġeld, wereġeld
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *werageld. Equivalent to wer (“man”) + ġield (“payment”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwerˌji͜yld/, [ˈwerˌji͜yɫd]
Noun
werġield n
- wergeld: a kind of blood money paid by a criminal to a victim, or to the victim's family if they were dead, set according to social rank
Declension
Declension of wergield (strong-a-stem)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | werġield | werġield |
| accusative | werġield | werġield |
| genitive | werġieldes | werġielda |
| dative | werġielde | werġieldum |
Descendants
- Middle English: wergeld, weregelt, wergelt
- English: wergeld