Schryvynge

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of confessing one's sins to a priest and receiving forgiveness in the Church
2. Penitential confession of sins to a priest, followed by absolution in medieval religious practice
3. The ritual in which a penitent person admits wrongdoing to a clergyman and is granted pardon

Etymology: "Schryvynge" is a Middle English spelling of "shriving," the act of hearing a sinner's confession and granting absolution, usually with a penance. The verb "shrive" goes back to Old English "scrīfan," which was borrowed from Latin "scrībere," meaning "to write." The link is surprising: the Church word for confession comes from the idea of writing. The likely route is that "scrīfan" first meant to decree or prescribe, as a confessor would set a penance in writing, before narrowing to the priest's hearing of confessions. The Middle English spelling reflects medieval scribes' habits. "Sch" and "y" were common ways to write the sounds of "sh" and "i" in the period, so the same word appears in many variants. The noun "shrift," meaning confession or absolution, comes from the same root, and it survives in the phrase "short shrift," which originally meant a brief confession before execution.