geld

1 of 2

verb

gelded; gelding; gelds

transitive verb

1
: to castrate (an animal)
Some old-timers will tell you that the horse will grow better if you wait until he's older to geld him, but I've found this isn't the case …Practical Horseman
2
: to deprive of a natural or essential part
the legislation was pretty much gelded by the time it was passed

geld

2 of 2

noun

: the crown tax paid under Anglo-Saxon and Norman kings

Examples of geld in a Sentence

Verb by the time of the fourth rewrite, the screenplay had pretty much been gelded of all originality
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Because Moscow retains a close partner in this effort to geld Ukraine—a vassal state that presents the model for what Putin would like to accomplish in Ukraine: Belarus. Casey Michel, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2022 To avoid getting into a dangerous donkey situation in the first place, geld your donkey. Wes Siler, Outside Online, 7 May 2018 He's since been gelded and will become an event horse. Eric Sondheimer, latimes.com, 9 Feb. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'geld.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old Norse gelda; akin to Old English gelde sterile

Noun

Old English gield, geld service, tribute; akin to Old English gieldan to pay, yield — more at yield entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1610, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of geld was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near geld

Cite this Entry

“Geld.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geld. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

geld

verb
ˈgeld

Medical Definition

geld

transitive verb
: to castrate (an animal)

More from Merriam-Webster on geld

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!