geld
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡɛld/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛld
Etymology 1
From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield (“payment, tribute”), 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.
Noun
geld (countable and uncountable, plural gelds)
- (chiefly archaic or historical) Money.
- (historical) In particular, (money paid as) a medieval form of land tax.
Verb
geld (third-person singular simple present gelds, present participle gelding, simple past and past participle gelded)
- (historical) To tax geld.
Related terms
- Danegeld
- hidegeld
- wharfgeld
- sandgeld
- wergeld
- yield
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English gelden, from Old Norse gelda (“to geld, castrate”), from geldr (“yielding no milk, dry”), cognate with Old High German galt, Proto-Germanic *galdjan (“to castrate”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to cut”).[1][2]
Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌰 (gilþa, “sickle”).[3] 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.[2]
Verb
geld (third-person singular simple present gelds, present participle gelding, simple past and past participle gelded or gelt)
- (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.
-
- (transitive, figuratively) To deprive of anything essential; to weaken.
Translations
Noun
geld (plural gelds)
- A female animal, such as a ewe or cow, that is not pregnant.
References
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 434
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “geld”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- geld in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch geld (“money”), from Middle Dutch gelt, from Old Dutch geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą, cognate with German Geld (“money”), Old Norse gjald (“payment”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 (gild, “tribute”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /χɛlt/
Audio (file)
Noun
geld (plural gelde)
- (uncountable) money
- (uncountable) cash, currency
- Synonym: kontant
- tariff, compensation
Derived terms
- geldboete
- geldeenheid
- geldstuk
- papgeld
- sakgeld
- spaargeld
Descendants
- → Sotho: tjhelete
- → Venda: tshelede
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɣɛlt/, (Northern Dutch) [xɛlt], (Southern Dutch) [ɣɛlt]
audio (file) - Hyphenation: geld
- Rhymes: -ɛlt
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch gelt, gheld, ghelt, from Old Dutch geld, from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”).
Noun
geld n (plural gelden)
- money
- Synonyms: doekoe, poen
Derived terms
- baar geld
- belastinggeld
- bibbergeld
- bloedgeld
- briefgeld
- bruggegeld
- chartaal geld
- drinkgeld
- geldaanbod
- geldauto
- geldautomaat
- geldbedrag
- geldboete
- geldbron
- geldbuidel
- geldelijk
- geldezel
- geldgebrek
- geldgewin
- geldgroei
- geldhandel
- geldhoeveelheid
- geldillusie
- geldkraan
- geldneutraliteit
- geldschepping
- geldschieten
- geldsnoeier
- geldsom
- geldsoort
- geldstraf
- geldstroom
- geldstuk
- geldtransport
- geldvoorraad
- geldwaarde
- geldwagen
- geldwolf
- geldzaak
- gevarengeld
- giraal geld
- goed geld
- handgeld
- kasgeld
- lidgeld
- losgeld
- monopolygeld
- muntgeld
- ontgelden
- overheidsgeld
- papiergeld
- reisgeld
- slecht geld
- speelgeld
- staangeld
- stageld
- vergelden
- wachtgeld
- weergeld
- wisselgeld
- zakgeld
- zwart geld
- zwijggeld
Descendants
- Afrikaans: geld
- → Sotho: tjhelete
- → Venda: tshelede
- Jersey Dutch: xjäält, xält
- Negerhollands: geld, gelt
- Skepi Creole Dutch: galti
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch gelde, probably borrowed from Old Norse geldr (“barren, yielding no milk”), from Proto-Germanic *galdaz, *galdijaz (“barren, unfruitful”). The ultimate origin is uncertain; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to cut”)[1], or from *gʰel- (“to shout, cry”).[2]
Adjective
geld (not comparable)
- (obsolete, of female animals) not pregnant
- Antonym: drachtig
- (obsolete, of fish) male
Inflection
| Inflection of geld | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | geld | |||
| inflected | gelde | |||
| comparative | — | |||
| positive | ||||
| predicative/adverbial | geld | |||
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | gelde | ||
| n. sing. | geld | |||
| plural | gelde | |||
| definite | gelde | |||
| partitive | gelds | |||
Alternative forms
- gelt (obsolete)
Descendants
- → West Frisian: geld
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
geld
- first-person singular present indicative of gelden
- imperative of gelden
References
- “geld”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “geld2”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
Icelandic
Verb
geld
- first-person singular present indicative of gjalda
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jeld/, [jeɫd]
Noun
ġeld n
- Alternative form of ġield
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | ġeld | ġeld |
| accusative | ġeld | ġeld |
| genitive | ġeldes | ġelda |
| dative | ġelde | ġeldum |
Scots
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɡɛl(d)]
Adjective
geld (comparative mair geld, superlative maist geld)
- Alternative form of yeld