This week’s theme
Words from English English

This week’s words
writhen
shrive

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(shryv)

MEANING:

verb tr.:	1. To hear a confession.
	2. To impose penance.
	3. To free from guilt.
verb intr.:	1. To make a confession.
	2. To hear a confession.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English scrift (confession, penance), from scrifan (to shrive: to impose penance). Earliest documented use: before 1150.

NOTES:

Here’s a word that does it all, like a one-stop soul shop. Shrive covers the entire moral supply chain: hearing a confession, handing out a penalty, and wiping the slate clean.

Earlier, people went to priests for shriving. These days, they go to therapists, life coaches, and podcasts. (“Tell me about your mother... and say three Hail Marys.”)

The most common form of the word lives in the phrase “to get short shrift”, meaning to receive little time, attention, or sympathy. Originally, the quick confession and absolution given to condemned prisoners before execution.

USAGE:

“The final fine stays at $500, and the new member is properly shriven.”
Colby Cosh; Liberal MP Gets off Lightly for Theft of Flyer; Calgary Herald (Canada); Jan 31, 2022.

See more usage examples of shrive in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: