wera

1 wera, wara [AS wer > ME were], barrier placed across stream (esp. to provide water for driving mill-wheel or to preserve fish), weir, sluice, dam, (also) body of water held behind such barrier, pond. c1130 cum omnibus mansuris quas habui supra waram que est de molendinis meis que sunt juxta castellum Oxenefordie Cart. Osney I 1; 1285 cotagium primum super waram per Lucam piscatorem (Rental) Ib. III 127; 1286 predictam warram aperire et claudere, cum inundatio et diminutio aque accidere contigerit Ib. II 473; 1289 dedi ‥ totam ~am Cradoci usque ad viam que tendit apud C. MonA VI 1022; 13‥ inveniet hominem ad gurgitem faciendum et waram (Cart. Beaulieu) Villainage in Eng. 243; c1361 solut' hominibus venientibus ad frangendum waram molendini Oxon' ‥ per preceptum majoris MunCOx 271; 1401 in xx laborariis ‥ pilantibus et rammantibus waram [molendini] cum luto Pipe Wint. 11M59/B1/150 r. 23d.; 1402 totum jus ‥ in maneriis ‥ ac omnibus aliis terris et tenementis ‥ mariscis, ~is, boscis ‥ in comitatibus Essexie Cl 249 m. 7d.; 1453 cujusdam saline ‥ cum muris maritimis, strodis, ~is ‥ et aliis suis pertinenciis Cl 304 m. 7; 1550 aquas, piscarias, warreas, passagia, cimbas Pat 823 m. 5.

2 wera [AS wer], (leg.) price set upon man (according to rank) to be paid as compensation in case of homicide or injury, wergild. V. et. weregildum. ut ~am suam, premium natalis sui, Christo persolvat et regi (Quad.) GAS 280; perdat manum aut dimidiam ~am [Cons. Cnuti: dimidiam redempcionem; AS: healfes weres] (Ib.) Ib. 339; supra rectam ~am [AS: rihtwere] ‥ due libre emendantur (Ib.) Ib. 467; athemen persolvantur plena ~a (Leg. Hen. 70. 7a) Ib. 588; reddere forisfacturam, i. e. ~am suam (Leg. Ed.) Ib. 667; 1189 (1252) nullus burgensium judicetur de misericordia pecunie nisi ad suam guerram, sc. centum solidos CalCh I 410; c1210 ista precepta et statuta non sint violata super forisfacturam nostram plenam ~am (Leg. Will.) GAS 491; corpus ejus in misericordia regis [lege] Anglorum, ~e suum, i. e. precium sue redempcionis Knighton I 84; si ordinatus occidatur supra rectam ~am primus gradus unam libram et dignam emendacionem ‥ perquirat MGL II 629.