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
While Anarchist is the morning-line, 7-2 favorite in the 11-horse field, the sentimental favorite will be 9-year-old gelding C Z Rocket. Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2023 An Oldenburg gelding in the horse barn, which is paved with rubber tiles; another stall contains a 1900s French armchair, a 19th-century table, and bird prints. Anita Sarsidi, ELLE Decor, 1 June 2023 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 Yet on May 8, 1920 — 100 years ago Friday — Man o’ War was conspicuously absent from Churchill Downs, neither entered nor even nominated for the 46th Derby won by the gelding Paul Jones. Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 7 May 2020 Following the bad start, the gelding angled in for clearance and finished fairly well far back while guzzled nearing the wire. Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2020 No knocks, so expect this gelding to fire a big shot in his return. Saturday’s result: Equal Measure proved much the best with an easy win to pay $10.20 to win. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2019 Fuchs, riding the experienced gelding Clooney 51, and Maher with Explosion W, produced four flawless rounds over two days to win the final event of the regular season. Danielle Rossingh, CNN, 29 Sep. 2019 To Mischief picked up his first winner as a stallion at Golden Gate Fields on Friday afternoon when 2-year-old gelding Monstrodomous won the second race, a maiden $12,500 claimer on the Tapeta. Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2019 See More

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 29 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

geld

verb
ˈgeld

Medical Definition

geld

transitive verb
: to castrate (an animal)

More from Merriam-Webster on geld

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