Weregild

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Weregild \Were"gild`\, n. [AS. wergild; wer a man, value set on
     a man's life + gild payment of money; akin to G. wehrgeld.
     [root]285. See {Were} a man, and {Geld}, n.] (O. Eng. Law)
     The price of a man's head; a compensation paid of a man
     killed, partly to the king for the loss of a subject, partly
     to the lord of a vassal, and partly to the next of kin. It


     was paid by the murderer. [Written also {weregeld},
     {weregelt}, etc.] --Blackstone.
     [1913 Webster]