Middle English Dictionary Entry
wer-geld n.
Entry Info
| Forms | wer-geld n. Also weregeld, (?error) weregold. |
| Etymology | OE wer-gild, wer-geld, were-gild; cp. ME wer n.(1) & yẹ̄ld n. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
Note: Cp. wer n.(2).
1.
Law A sum of money established as the value of a free man, determined according to social rank and paid as compensation for the murder or injury of such a man.
Associated quotations
- 1103-20(OE) Inst.Cnuti in Liebermann Gesetze 1613 : Sacramentum liberalis hominis, quem quidem Angli uocant twelfhende, debet stare et ualere iuramentum sex uillanorum, quia pretium eius est, id est weregeld, sex uillanorum.
- c1250 Legal Gloss.Jul.(Jul D.7)33 : Weregold.