shrive \SHRYVE\ verb
1 : to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to *2 : to free from guilt
Example sentence: Only the knowledge that Pinky had forgiven her could shrive her of the guilt she felt for not tipping him well for the services rendered.
Did you know? We wouldn't want to give the history of "shrive" short shrift, so here's the whole story. It began when the Latin verb "scribere" (meaning "to write") found its way onto the tongues of certain Germanic peoples, who brought it to Britain in the early Middle Ages. Because it was often used for laying down directions or rules in writing, 8th-century Old English speakers used their form of the term, "scrīfan," to mean "to prescribe or impose." The Church adopted "scrīfan" to refer to the act of assigning penance to sinners and, later, to hearing confession and administering absolution. Today, the noun form of "shrive," "shrift," makes up half of "short shrift," a phrase meaning "little or no consideration." Originally, "short shrift" was the barely adequate time for confession before an execution.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
