guild

or gild

[ gild ]

/ gɪld /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR guild ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an organization of persons with related interests, goals, etc., especially one formed for mutual aid or protection.

any of various medieval associations, as of merchants or artisans, organized to maintain standards and to protect the interests of its members, and that sometimes constituted a local governing body.

Botany. a group of plants, as parasites, having a similar habit of growth and nutrition.

Nearby words

guidon, guidwillie, guienne, guige, guija, guild, guild socialism, guilder, guildford, guildhall, guilds

Origin of guild

before 1000; Middle English gild(e) < Old Norse gildi guild, payment; replacing Old English gegyld guild; akin to German Geld money, Gothic -gild tax

Can be confused

gild gilt guild guilt

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

Examples from the Web for guild

Inside the guild, men in caps and long gowns sit in twos, weaving together in small rooms.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Online he was a guild leader, delivering rousing speeches to fellow gamers.
The U.S. Veteran and Wisconsin Boy Who Went to Fight ISIS in Syria|Jacob Siegel|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bad as that deal was, it was better than the alternative: a 23 percent wage cut for all Guild employees to begin next week.
Suicide at The Globe|Alex S. Jones|June 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In many towns no one was allowed to work at a trade or sell merchandise who was not a member of a guild.
Introductory American History|Henry Eldridge Bourne

Notwithstanding this preliminary disturbance, the Old Girls' Guild was started with thirty-five members on the roll.
The Luckiest Girl in the School|Angela Brazil
Nobody was allowed to get ahead of the others under pain of being excluded from the guild.
The Conquest of Bread|Peter Kropotkin
All your culinary fancies will be well known to the council of the guild, and they will pick out a man up to your standard.
The Inhabitants of the Philippines|Frederic H. Sawyer
There was no guild of embroiderers in England that we know of till that incorporated in the reign of Elizabeth.
Needlework As Art|Marian Alford

British Dictionary definitions for guild

guild

gild

/ (ɡɪld) /

noun

an organization, club, or fellowship

(esp in medieval Europe) an association of men sharing the same interests, such as merchants or artisans: formed for mutual aid and protection and to maintain craft standards or pursue some other purpose such as communal worship

ecology a group of plants, such as a group of epiphytes, that share certain habits or characteristics

Word Origin for guild

C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse gjald payment, gildi guild; related to Old English gield offering, Old High German gelt money

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