geld

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   cut off the testicles (of male animals such as horses)

   The vet gelded the young horse.

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”), Danish gæld (“debt”). Geld is also written gelt or gild, and as such found in wergild, Danegeld, etc. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian jild (“money”), Saterland Frisian Jield, Jäild (“money”), Dutch geld (“money”), German Geld (“money”), Old Norse gjald (“payment”),...

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