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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 See all Example Sentences for geld 

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 21 Dec. 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!