Wergeld

See also: wergeld

German

Alternative forms

• Wehrgeld (unofficial, but common especially in older sources)

Etymology

From Middle High German wergelt, from Old High German werigelt, from Proto-West Germanic *werageld (literally “man-money”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːrˌɡɛlt/
• Hyphenation: Wer‧geld

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Wergeld n (strong, genitive Wergeldes or Wergelds, plural Wergelder)

1. blood money, wergeld, diyya

   Synonyms: Blutgeld, Manngeld

Declension

Declension of Wergeld [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Wergeld	die	Wergelder
genitive	eines	des	Wergeldes, Wergelds	der	Wergelder
dative	einem	dem	Wergeld, Wergelde1	den	Wergeldern
accusative	ein	das	Wergeld	die	Wergelder

¹Now rare, see notes.

Related terms

• Werwolf

Descendants

• → Russian: ве́ргельд (vérgelʹd)

Further reading

• “Wergeld” in Duden online
• “Wergeld” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache