guilty etymology

Etymology

• Middle English: gilti, from Old English gylt ("offense, transgression, debt, guilt")
• Proto-Germanic: *gultiz ("debt, guilt")
• Proto-Indo-European: *gʷelh₂- ("to turn, revolve, roll")

Meaning

• The state of having committed an offense, crime, or wrong
• A sense of responsibility or remorse for wrongdoing
• A legal obligation to pay or make amends for a wrong

Origin

The root *gʷelh₂- suggests a connection between guilt and the idea of something "rolling" or "turning." This may refer to the notion of wrongdoing as a departure from an established norm or the feeling of guilt as a burden that weighs heavily on the individual.

• In Germanic languages, *gultiz was primarily used to refer to debts and obligations.
• In English, the meaning expanded to include moral offenses and legal wrongdoing.
• The modern sense of guilt, emphasizing a subjective feeling of responsibility, emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the rise of existentialist and psychological thought.

guilty relate terms

• guilt

  Etymology Old English gylt crime sin Proto Germanic gultiz debt guilt Proto Indo

• guiltiness

  Etymology The word guiltiness derives from the Old English word gylt meaning debt

• guilty

  Etymology Middle English gilti from Old English gylt offense transgression debt g

• innocent

  Etymology The word innocent comes from the Latin word innocens which means harmles

• taint

  Etymology From Middle English teynte teint from Anglo Norman teint from Old French t

• convict

  Etymology The word convict is derived from the Latin word convictus which means con

• shall

  Etymology Origin Old English sceal to owe be obliged from Proto Germanic skula

• plea

  Etymology The word plea is derived from the Old French word plaidier meaning to pl

• ordeal

  Etymology Old English ordæl trial judgment Proto Germanic urðeilz verdict judg