Bloodwite

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈblʌdwaɪt/

Definitions

1. A monetary penalty established as recompense for causing physical harm or death to another person under historical legal systems
2. A compensation fee required in ancient legal practices for violent acts resulting in injury or loss of life
3. A form of financial restitution mandated in medieval law for injuries inflicted upon individuals or for resulting fatalities

Etymology: Bloodwite is a compound of two Old English words: "blōd", meaning blood, and "wīte", meaning a fine or penalty. In the medieval legal system, the word named a payment owed for wounding someone or causing a death, and it was distinct from the compensation owed to the injured party or family. The "wīte" element is the same one found in "witan" (to know, in the sense of a council of wise men), but the penalty sense is what survives here, since the payment was a fine imposed for the bloodshed. The word has been carried into modern English unchanged in form from its Old English root, which makes it one of the more direct survivals of the period's legal vocabulary. Its meaning has stayed fixed to the same narrow sense of a fine for injury, rather than broadening into a general penalty as many legal terms did.