guild

• gild

From Middle English gilde, from Old Norse gildi (“payment, guild”). Related to geld, yield, yauld.

• IPA^(key): /ɡɪld/
• Rhymes: -ɪld
• Homophones: gild, gilled

guild (plural guilds)

1. A group or association mainly of tradespeople made up of merchants, craftspeople, or artisans for mutual aid, particularly in the Middle Ages.
2. A corporation.
3. (ecology) A group of diverse species that share common characteristics or habits.
4. (video games) An organized group of players who regularly play together in a multiplayer game.

• (medieval professional associations): Hanse (merchants)
• (modern professional associations): trade union, union, professional association

• (meeting place): guild hall, guildhall, guildsman, guildswoman, common house, common hall

• The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000, Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009
• Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, HarperCollins Publishers, 2003