corsned means A consecrated piece of bread given to a person suspected of a crime, indicating innocence if swallowed easily and guilt if it stuck in the throat; a morsel of execration. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why “corsned” is a great word
CORSNED — [Noun] A consecrated morsel of bread or cheese given to an accused person to swallow, with guilt or innocence divined from its passage down the throat. From Old English corsnǽd, a compound of cor ("choice, trial") + snǽd ("piece, bit"). Unlike the often brutal "ordeal," which could involve fire or water, or the rational proceeding of a "trial," the corsned was a precise, sacramental test of the throat. It is the dry heft of the hallowed loaf on the tongue, the convulsive tightening of a terrified gullet, and the silent, communal watching for a swallow or a choke—a primitive divination that located truth not in the mind, but in the body's most involuntary reflex.
Etymology
From Old English corsnǽd (literally “chosen piece”).
noun
- A consecrated piece of bread given to a person suspected of a crime, indicating innocence if swallowed easily and guilt if it stuck in the throat; a morsel of execration.“This corsned was then given to the suspected person[.]”