geld

Meanings

Noun

• Money.
• A female animal, such as a ewe or cow, that is not pregnant.

Verb

• To castrate a male (usually an animal).
• To deprive of anything essential; to weaken.

Origin

• From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield, from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą ("reward, gift, money"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- ("to pay"). Probably reinforced by gelt (which see), see Norwegian Bokmål gjeld ("debt"). Geld is also written gelt or gild, and as such found in wergild, Danegeld, etc.
• Cognate with North Frisian jild ("money"), Saterland Frisian Jield, Jäild, Dutch geld ("money"), German Geld ("money"), Old Norse gjald ("payment"), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 ("tribute"). Also related to English yield.
• From Middle English gelden, from Old Norse gelda, from geldr, cognate with Old High German galt. Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌰 ("sickle"). Compare the archaic German Gelze ("castrated swine") and gelzen, Danish galt ("castrated boar") (from Old Norse gǫltr ("boar, hog"), cognate with English gilt) and gilde. "gelding" derives from Old Norse geldingr.