ˈshr]īv, esp South ˈsr], dial ˈsw] verb
( shrived ]īvd ; or shrove ]ōv ; shriv·en ]ivən also iv ə m or ib ə m ; or shrived ; shriving ; shrives )
Etymology: Middle English shriven, from Old English scrīfan to shrive, prescribe; akin to Old Frisian skrīva to shrive, write, Old High German scrīban to write; all from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from Latin scribere to write — more at scribe
transitive verb
1. : to hear the confession of, impose penance on, and give absolution to (a person) in the sacrament of penance
the resident parson … would sing his daily Mass and come in to shrive the sick — G.G.Coulton
2. : to free from guilt : pardon , purge
shrives his burdened mind — Robert Trumbull
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to hear confessions, to impose penance, and to give absolution in performance of the ecclesiastical office of confessor
priests were praying, preaching, shriving — T.B.Macaulay
2. : to confess one's sins especially to a priest
mocked at the priest when he called her to shrive — Elizabeth B. Browning