geld

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛld/
• Rhymes: -ɛld

From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield (“payment, tribute”), from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Cognate with North Frisian jild (“money”), Saterland Frisian Jield, Jäild (“money”), Dutch geld (“money”), German Geld (“money”), Old Norse gjald (“payment”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 (gild, “tribute”). Also related to English yield. Geld is also written gelt or gild, and as such found in wergild, Danegeld, etc. Probably reinforced by gelt (which see).

geld (countable and uncountable, plural gelds)

1. (chiefly archaic or historical) Money.
   1. (historical) In particular, (money paid as) a medieval form of land tax.

• Danegeld
• hidegeld
• wharfgeld
• sandgeld
• wergeld
• yield

From Middle English gelden, from Old Norse gelda (“to geld, castrate”), from geldr (“yielding no milk, dry”), cognate with Old High German galt[1]. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌰 (gilþa, “sickle”)[2]. Compare the archaic German Gelze (“castrated swine”) and gelzen (“castrate”), Danish galt (“castrated boar”) (from Old Norse gǫltr (“boar, hog”), cognate with English gilt) and gilde (“to geld”). "gelding" derives from Old Norse geldingr.[1]

geld (third-person singular simple present gelds, present participle gelding, simple past and past participle gelded or gelt)

1. (transitive) To castrate a male (usually an animal).
   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room, Vintage Classics, paperback edition, page 16-17:

     "Poor old Topaz," said Mrs Flanders, as he stretched himself out in the sun, and she smiled, thinking how she had had him gelded, and how she did not like red hair in men.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To deprive of anything essential; to weaken.

From Dutch geld (“money”), cognate with German Geld (“money”), Old Norse gjald (“payment”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 (gild, “tribute”).

geld (plural geld)

1. money

• Rhymes: -ɛlt
• IPA^(key): /ɣɛlt/, (Northern Dutch) [xɛlt], (Southern Dutch) [ɣɛlt]

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From Middle Dutch gheld, ghelt, from Old Dutch geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Cognate with English geld, yield, German Geld (“money”), West Frisian jild, Old Norse gjald (“payment”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 (gild, “tribute”).

geld n (plural gelden)

1. money

From Middle Dutch gelde. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

geld (not comparable)

1. (obsolete, of female animals) not pregnant

   Antonym: drachtig

2. (obsolete, of fish) male

• gelt (obsolete)

• → West Frisian: geld

See the etymology of the main entry.

geld

1. first-person singular present indicative of gelden
2. imperative of gelden

geld

1. first-person singular present indicative of gjalda

• IPA^(key): [ɡɛl(d)]

geld (comparative mair geld, superlative maist geld)

1. Alternative form of yeld