shrive

verb

ˈshrīv 

 especially Southern  ˈsrīv

shrived or shrove ˈshrōv 

ˈsrōv

; shriven ˈshri-vən 

ˈsri-

or shrived; shriving

transitive verb

1

: to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to

2

: to free from guilt

intransitive verb

archaic : to confess one's sins especially to a priest

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, 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 shrift, the noun form of shrive, makes up half of "short shrift," a phrase meaning "little or no attention or consideration." Originally, "short shrift" was the barely adequate time for confession before an execution.

Examples of shrive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Shrove Tuesday derives from the Anglo-Saxon Christian practice of going to confession and being shriven, or absolved of sins before the 40-day fast leading up to Easter. —Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English scrīfan to shrive, prescribe (akin to Old High German scrīban to write), from Latin scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

shrive

verb

ˈshrīv 

shrived or shrove ˈshrōv  ; shriven ˈshriv-ən  or shrived; shriving

ˈshrī-viŋ

1

: to hear the confession of and administer the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance to : pardon

2

archaic : to confess one's sins especially to a priest