*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gelt

Borrowed from Irish geilt.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A lunatic.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Irish geilt.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "ga:geilt",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Gilding; gilt.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variation of gilt.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A gelding.

verb

simple past and past participle of geld

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See geld.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

Money. · Tribute; tax. · Money, especially that given as a gift on Hanukkah or used in games of dreidel. · Chocolate candy in the shape of coins, usually wrapped in metallic foil, usually eaten on Hanukkah and often used for games of dreidel.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

In the basic sense of "money", attested since the early 16th century, initially from (an Early New High German continuation of) Middle High German gelt (modern German Geld), from Old High German gelt (“payment, money”), or in some cases from (an Early Modern Dutch continuation of) Middle Dutch gelt. Later, and in the Jewish-related senses, from Yiddish געלט (gelt). The German, Dutch and Yiddish words are all from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”). Doublet of native words geld and yield.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gelt →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2VsdA