Definition of "shrive" [shrive]

• To hear the confession of and give absolution to (a penitent). (verb-transitive)
• To obtain absolution for (oneself) by confessing and doing penance. (verb-transitive)
• Archaic To make or go to confession. (verb-intransitive)
• Archaic To hear confessions. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "COOPER: Well, by the Christian calendar, tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, the world shrove from the old English word -- verb to -- to shrive, meaning to absolve."
• "These refer to the old religious custom of confession; to "shrive" signifies to forgive, to free from sin, as a priest is supposed to do, and "assoiled" means "purified.""
• "And a search of t’internet tells me that shrove is derived from shrive, meaning to confess your sins to cleanse yourself before lent."