gelt

[gelt]

verb

a simple past tense and past participle of geld¹.

gelt

[gelt]

noun Slang.

money.

Origin of gelt

1890–95; < Yiddish < Middle High German geld money; in earlier British dial. uses < German or Dutch; see geld²

geld

[geld]

verb (used with object), geld·ed or gelt, geld·ing.

to castrate (an animal, especially a horse).

to take strength, vitality, or power from; weaken or subdue.

Origin of geld

1250–1300; Middle English gelden < Old Norse gelda

Related formsgeld·er, nounun·geld·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gelt

emasculate, neuter, fix, sterilize, spay, alter, unman, eunuchize

Examples from the Web for gelt

Historical Examples of gelt

Gelt stags and bucks have hornless heads, like hinds and does.
The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 2
Gilbert White
The Calroza Sisters are sure some lookers and will give you a run for your gelt.
Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis
Se e fr on sore lufe ne mg h dwelian, ne forhtian: heo gewissa, and gescylt, and gelt.
The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
lfric
Gif he onne eft one deofol anrdlice forlǽt, onne gemt h eft s halgan Gastes gife, e his heortan onliht, and to Criste gelt.
The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
lfric
Go on my ways with master mein, with my havresac on mein horse—poor teufel was I—but there was gelt in it.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
Various

British Dictionary definitions for gelt

gelt

verb

archaic, or dialect a past tense and past participle of geld 1

gelt

noun

slang, mainly US cash or funds; money

Word Origin for gelt

C19: from Yiddish, from Old High German gelt reward

geld

verb gelds, gelding, gelded or gelt (tr)

to castrate (a horse or other animal)

to deprive of virility or vitality; emasculate; weaken

Derived Formsgelder, noun

Word Origin for geld

C13: from Old Norse gelda, from geldr barren

geld

noun

a tax on land levied in late Anglo-Saxon and Norman England

Word Origin for geld

Old English gield service, tax; related to Old Norse gjald tribute, Old Frisian jeld, Old High German gelt retribution, income

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gelt

"money," 1520s, from German, Dutch gelt "gold, money" (see geld (n.)). In some later uses, from Yiddish.

adj.

past participle of geld (v.); hence, as an adjective, "castrated" (mid-15c.).

geld

"royal tax in medieval England," Old English gield "payment, tribute," from Proto-Germanic *geldam "payment" (cf. Middle High German gelt "payment, contribution," German geld "money," Old Norse gjald "payment," Gothic gild "tribute, tax"), from PIE root of yield (v.).

geld

"to castrate," c.1300, from Old Norse gelda "castrate" from geldr "barren," from Proto-Germanic *galdu-, from PIE *ghel- "to cut." Related: Gelded. Cf. Old Norse geldr "yielding no milk, dry," Old High German galt "barren," said of a cow.