shrift
/ʃɹɪft/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.23 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
Etymology
From Middle English shrift (“confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrift (“penance, shrift; something prescribed as punishment, penalty; one who passes sentence, a judge”), from sċrīfan (“of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance; to pass judgment, ordain, prescribe; to appoint, decree”) (whence shrive), from Proto-Germanic *skrībaną (“to write”), from Latin scrībō (“to write”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- (“to scratch, tear”). Equivalent to shrive + -t.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʃɹɪft/
- British English: /ʃɹɪft/