Also (incorrectly) -wit. [OE. blódwíte, f. blód blood + wíte punishment, penalty, fine.]
1. A penalty for bloodshed: a. in Old English Law, A fine for shedding blood, to be paid to the aldorman or king, in addition to the weregild, or legal value of the life destroyed, paid to the family of the person killed.
[a. 1000. Lamb. Ps. xv. 4 (Bosw.). Of blodum oððe of blodwitum.]
1228. Mem. Ripon (1882), I. 52. Blodewyt.
c. 1250. Gloss. Law Terms, in Rel. Ant., I. 33. Blodwite, quite de sanc espondu.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., 67. Bludeweit hes na place within burgh.
1614. Selden, Titles Hon., 263. Wite … is a Punishment or Mulct, as in our words occurring in old monuments, Blodwite, Frithwite, and the like.
1754. Erskine, Princ. Sc. Law (1809), 45. He might, by our later practice, have judged … in riots and bloodwits.
1814. Scott, Wav., xlviii. The bloodwit was made up to your ain satisfaction by assythment.
1876. Green, Short Hist., i. 2. The blood-wite or compensation in money for personal wrong.
b. generally. A penalty for murder.
1881. Clouston, Arab. Poetry, Introd. p. xxvii. In the Sunnat … the amount of the bloodwit was increased to one hundred camels.
1882. J. Payne, 1001 Nights, II. 202. That my son’s head be paid with the bloodwit of Sherkan’s head only.
2. contextually. a. The right of levying the foregoing fine. b. The privilege of exemption from it.
a. 1067. Chart. Eadweard, in Cod. Dipl., IV. 216. Ic an heom ðerofer sace and socne … and blodwite and werdwite.
1641. Termes de la Ley, 42. Bloodwit, that is, to bee quit of amerciaments for blood-shedding.
