wergeld

Meaning

Noun

• Blood money, the monetary value assigned to a person, set according to their rank, used to determine the compensation paid by the perpetrator of a crime to the victim in the case of injury or to the victim's kindred in the case of homicide.
• Compensation thus determined and paid; a reparative payment.

Related

Similar words

• wer

Origin

• , wereġeld, from Proto-West Germanic *werageld. More at wer, geld.