Shrive

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈʃɹaɪv/

Definitions

1. To provide spiritual counsel and forgiveness after an admission of guilt
2. To admit one's sins in a religious context in order to receive forgiveness
3. To make a formal confession to a clergy member seeking spiritual pardon

Etymology: The verb "shrive" started out as a word for writing, not for forgiveness. Old English "sċrīfan" meant "to decree" or "to pass judgement," and it was borrowed early on from Latin "scrībere," "to write," so the two words are cousins. The Latin root came into the Germanic languages as a loan, which explains why German "schreiben" and Dutch "schrijven" still mean "to write" today. The sense shifted in the church. A priest who heard a confession had authority to set a penance and pronounce absolution, and the Old English verb came to describe that act. To be "shriven" was to have confessed and been absolved, and the word narrowed until it meant only forgiving sins, the sense it keeps now.

Synonyms: absolve, forgive, pardon

Antonyms: accuse, blame, condemn