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guilt

Pronunciation: /ɡɪlt/

The English word “guilt” has 5 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Responsibility for wrongdoing.
  2. The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
  3. Regret for having done wrong.

verb

  1. To commit offenses; act criminally.
  2. To cause someone to feel guilt, particularly in order to influence their behaviour.

Etymology

From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin. Possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”) (whence yield), from Proto-West Germanic *guldijā (whence Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”), Middle Low German gülde, German Gülte), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay for”), from…

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