Etymology

healsfang

H4E1A1L1S1F4A1N1G2

Today it means: In Anglo-Saxon law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character. Full definition →

Old English healsfang
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The story

  1. Old English · learned borrowing fromhealsfang“fine prescribed in substitution for capital and other punishments”
  2. English todayhealsfang

Learned borrowing from Old English healsfang (“fine prescribed in substitution for capital and other punishments”, literally “neck-taking", or "taking by the neck”), equivalent to halse + fang. Cognate with Icelandic hálsfang (“embracing”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.