guilt

guilt · noun¹

1. Proto-West Germanic*gulti?
2. Old Englishgylt
3. Middle Englishgilt
4. English todayguilt

From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin. Possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”) (whence yield), from Proto-West Germanic *guldijā (whence Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”), Middle Low German gülde, German Gülte), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay for”), from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor its ending -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.

guilt · verb²

1. Old English · inherited fromgyltan“to commit sin, be guilty”
2. Middle English · inherited fromgilten
3. English todayguilt

From Middle English gilten, gylten, from Old English gyltan (“to commit sin, be guilty”), from gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”).

guilt · verb³

From Etymology 1.

Words from the same roots