MURDRUM

PRONUNCIATION: (MUR-drum)

MEANING: noun:
1. A murder, especially in secret.
2. A fine paid for a murder.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin murdrum (murder), from Old French murdre (murder). Earliest documented use: 1290.

NOTES: Before England went around colonizing the world, they were colonized/conquered by Romans, Angles/Saxons/Jutes, Vikings, and Normans. The locals vented by killing their new lords. So the law came down that any murder of a Norman was to result in a heavy fine for the whole village. On the other hand, if the person killed was an Englishman or an Englishwoman: pas de problème. This fine was known as murdrum.
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CURD-RUM - a beverage made from fermented milk

SUR DRUM - the cymbal on top of the Bass Drum in l'Orchestre de Paris

MUR DEUM - the Sacred Wall in Rome