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Added 9 October 2026

guilt

/ɡɪlt/ noun

In Latin: culpa Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about guilt at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The state of having committed an offense.
Remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense.

Origin

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 Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor its ending -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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