# healsfang

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. In Anglo-Saxon law, a fine or mulct of uncertain character.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Old English healsfang (“fine prescribed in substitution for capital and other punishments”, literally “neck-taking", or "taking by the neck”), equivalent to halse + fang. Cognate with Icelandic hálsfang (“embracing”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/healsfang