Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
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- [wur-gild, wer-]
- /ˈwɜr gɪld, ˈwɛr-/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [wur-gild, wer-]
- /ˈwɜr gɪld, ˈwɛr-/
Definitions of wergild word
- noun wergild (in Anglo-Saxon England and other Germanic countries) 1
- noun wergild money paid to the relatives of a murder victim in compensation for loss and to prevent a blood feud. 1
- noun wergild the amount of money fixed as compensation for the murder or disablement of a person, computed on the basis of rank. 1
- noun wergild Alternative spelling of wergeld. 1
- noun wergild the price set on a man's life in successive Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law codes, to be paid as compensation by his slayer 0
Information block about the term
Origin of wergild
First appearance:
before 1175 One of the 8% oldest English words
1175-1225; Middle English (Scots) weregylt, Old English wer(e)gild, equivalent to wer man (cognate with Gothic wair, Latin vir) + gild geld2; cognate with Middle Dutch weergelt, Old High German wergelt; see yield
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Wergild
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
wergild popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 68% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 51% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
wergild usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerTop questions with wergild
- what is wergild?
- what is a wergild?
- what is wergild in beowulf?
- what was wergild?
- what does wergild mean?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with w
- Words starting with we
- Words starting with wer
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- Words starting with wergil
- Words starting with wergild