I like to play around with words. Forgiveness, in its original and primary sense, refers to the cancellation of a debt. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word comes from for–, (probably meaning in this case “completely,”) and giefan, meaning “to give”. So when you forgive a debt, you basically just change whatever the…
Tag: forgiveness
Forgiveness – It’s Never About Them
Forgiveness is a fraught topic. The Online Etymological Dictionary entry for “forgive” suggests its origin is as follows: Old English forgiefan “give, grant, allow; remit (a debt), pardon (an offense),” also “give up” and “give in marriage” (past tense forgeaf, past participle forgifen); from for-, here probably “completely,” + giefan “to give” (from PIE root *ghabh- “to give or receive”). “Completely given” makes sense…
