Healsfang

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    In Anglo-Saxon law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character. historical

Etymology

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”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.