Word
eric
Phoneticser·ic
/ˈɛɹɪk/
Definitions
01male name
n. a common name for a man or boy.
n. a masculine given name of Germanic origin, meaning 'ever-ruler' or 'eternal ruler'.
“My friend Eric is coming over to help me fix my computer.”
“The biography details how Eric the Red founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland during the late tenth century.”
03historical fine
n. a payment made to a family to make up for a crime like murder.
n. a fine paid by a murderer or their family to the family of the victim under old Irish law.
“In ancient times, the family had to pay an eric for the crime.”
“The legal historian explained that the eric served as a form of restorative justice to prevent blood feuds between rival clans.”
Archaic · Technical
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English Eric, from Old English Eoric, from Old Norse Eirríkr, Eiríkr (from ei (“always, eternal”, see aye) + ríkr (“ruler”)), or from Proto-Germanic Aizarīkijaz (from aizō (“honor”) + rīkijaz (“ruler”)). Less likely from einn (“sole, alone”) + ríkr (“ruler”), from Proto-Germanic rīks (“king”, cognate to Latin rēx and Gaulish *rīx). The name was in use in Anglo-Saxon Britain, reinforced by Scandinavian settlers before the Norman Conquest. Compare Danish Erik, German Erich. Possible doublet of Euric.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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