Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In early English history, a vessel of boiling water into which an accused person plunged his arm as a test of his innocence.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A caldron of boiling water into which an accused person plunged his forearm as a test of innocence or guilt.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
cauldron ofboiling water into which anaccused person plunged hisforearm as a test ofinnocence orguilt .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Latin alfetum, from Anglo-Saxon word meaning "a pot to boil in".
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Examples
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jmjarmstrong commented on the word alfet
JM proposes that the noble and time honoured test of alfet take the place of all government elections (and it may be a good idea to roll it out for not-for-profit association Boards too).
May 3, 2010
oroboros commented on the word alfet
If the wound fails to heal in 3 days it is proof of guilt, according to NPR's Says You!. A basis for "Now you're in hot water!" ?
January 21, 2017