healsfang

H4E1A1L1S1F4A1N1G2

noun

In Anglo-Saxon law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character.

OriginOld English healsfang →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounhealsfang (plural healsfangs or healsfang)

plural healsfangs · alternative halsfang

  1. historicalIn Anglo-Saxon law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character.

Origin

  1. Old Englishhealsfang“fine prescribed in substitution for capital and other punishments”
  2. Englishhealsfang

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”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

healsfang. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/healsfang

MLA

“healsfang.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/healsfang. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “healsfang,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/healsfang.

Source: healsfang on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.