shrift [shrift] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for shrift on Thesaurus.com noun Archaic.
- the imposition of penance by a priest on a penitent after confession.
- absolution or remission of sins granted after confession and penance.
- confession to a priest.
Origin of shrift before 900; Middle English; Old English scrift penance; cognate with German, Dutch schrift writing; see shrive, -th1 Can be confusedshift shrift Related Words for shrift retribution, penitence, repentance, contrition, remorse, atonement, forgiveness, absolution, compunction, mortification, sorrow, confession, compensation, rue, penalty, suffering, purgation, attrition, ruth, punishment Examples from the Web for shrift Historical Examples of shrift
He lost his place, his money, and at last came to beg for shrift and punishment.
Charles L. Marson
His shrift of the morning, hurried and formal as it had been, had softened him.
Hereward, The Last of the English
Charles Kingsley
Under show of shrift, or, in other words, as coming to hear me confess.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays
Robert Dodsley
In the nature of things he felt that his own shrift must necessarily be short.
Francis Lynde
Nor dare you go near him on your own account, or short would be your shrift.
Charles Whistler
British Dictionary definitions for shrift shrift noun
- archaic the act or an instance of shriving or being shrivenSee also short shrift
Word Origin for shrift Old English scrift, from Latin scriptum script Word Origin and History for shrift n.
Old English scrift “confession to priest, followed by penance and absolution,” verbal noun from scrifan “to impose penance,” from an early Germanic borrowing of Latin scribere “to write” (see script (n.)) that produced nouns for “penance, confession” in Old English and Scandinavian (cf. Old Norse skrjpt “penance, confession”), but elsewhere in Germanic is used in senses “writing, scripture, alphabet letter;” see shrive. Short shrift originally was the brief time for a condemned criminal to confess before execution (1590s); figurative extension to “little or no consideration” is first attested 1814.
Idioms and Phrases with shrift shrift
see short shrift.