*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of yield

From Middle English yielden, yelden, ȝelden (“to yield, pay”), from Old English ġieldan (“to pay”), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay”), from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ-

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A product. · Measurement of the amount of a crop harvested, or animal products such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. · The harvestable population growth of an ecosystem. · The amount of product obtained in a chemical reaction.

verb

To give as a result or outcome; to produce or render. · To produce as return from an investment. · To produce as a result. · To produce a particular sound as the result of a sound law.

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

From Middle English yielden, yelden, ȝelden (“to yield, pay”), from Old English ġieldan (“to pay”), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay”), from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Doublet of geld. The noun is from Middle English ȝeld (“tax, payment”), from Old English ġield (“payment”), from Proto-West Germanic *geld (“payment”), from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Cognates Cognate with Scots yield (“to yield”), North Frisian jilden (“to pay”), Saterland Frisian jäilde (“to be valid, matter, count, be worth”), West Frisian jilde (“to pay”), Low German gellen, Dutch gelden (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), gelden (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), German gelten (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), Danish gælde (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), Faroese and Icelandic gjalda (“to pay”), Norwegian Bokmål gjelde (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), Norwegian Nynorsk gjelde, gjelda (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”), Swedish gälda (“to pay”), gälla (“to apply, be regarded”). The noun is cognate with West Frisian jild (“money”), Dutch geld (“money”), Low German and German Geld (“money”), Danish gæld (“debt”), Faroese and Icelandic gjald (“fee, payment”), Norn gild (“payment”), Norwegian gjeld (“debt”), and Swedish gäld (“debt”). See also geld.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰeldʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "yielden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English yielden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġieldan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġieldan (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*geldan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*geldaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰeldʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "geld"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of geld"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ȝeld",
        "4": "",
        "5": "tax, payment"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ȝeld (“tax, payment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġield",
        "4": "",
        "5": "payment"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġield (“payment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*geld",
        "4": "",
        "5": "payment"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *geld (“payment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*geldą",
        "4": "",
        "5": "reward, gift, money"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰeldʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "yield",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to yield"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots yield (“to yield”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "jilden",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian jilden (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "jäilde",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to be valid, matter, count, be worth"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian jäilde (“to be valid, matter, count, be worth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "jilde",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian jilde (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "gellen"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German gellen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "gelden",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to apply, count, be valued, be regarded"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch gelden (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gelten",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to apply, count, be valued, be regarded"
      },
      "expansion": "German gelten (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "gælde",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to apply, count, be valued, be regarded"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish gælde (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "gjalda",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic gjalda (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "gjelde",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to apply, count, be valued, be regarded"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål gjelde (“to apply, count, be valued, be regarded”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "gjelde"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk gjelde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "gälda",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish gälda (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "jild",
        "3": "",
        "4": "money"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian jild (“money”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "geld",
        "3": "",
        "4": "money"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch geld (“money”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Geld",
        "3": "",
        "4": "money"
      },
      "expansion": "German Geld (“money”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "gæld",
        "3": "",
        "4": "debt"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish gæld (“debt”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "gjald",
        "3": "",
        "4": "fee, payment"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic gjald (“fee, payment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nrn",
        "2": "gild",
        "3": "",
        "4": "payment"
      },
      "expansion": "Norn gild (“payment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "gjeld",
        "3": "",
        "4": "debt"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian gjeld (“debt”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "gäld",
        "3": "",
        "4": "debt"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish gäld (“debt”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "yielden",
      "yielden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "yelden",
      "yelden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ȝelden",
      "ȝelden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġieldan",
      "gieldan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*geldan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/geldan"
    ],
    [
      "*geldaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/geldaną"
    ],
    [
      "*gʰeldʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰeldʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "geld",
      "geld#English"
    ],
    [
      "ȝeld",
      "ȝeld#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġield",
      "gield#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*geld",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/geld"
    ],
    [
      "*geldą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/geldą"
    ],
    [
      "*gʰeldʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰeldʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "yield",
      "yield#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "jilden",
      "jilden#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "jäilde",
      "jäilde#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "jilde",
      "jilde#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "gellen",
      "gellen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gelden",
      "gelden#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "gelden",
      "gelden#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gelten",
      "gelten#German"
    ],
    [
      "gælde",
      "gælde#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "gjalda#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "gjalda",
      "gjalda#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "gjelde",
      "gjelde#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "gjelde",
      "gjelde#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "gjelda",
      "gjelda#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "gälda",
      "gälda#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "gälla",
      "gälla#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "jild",
      "jild#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "geld",
      "geld#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Geld",
      "Geld#German"
    ],
    [
      "gæld",
      "gæld#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "gjald",
      "gjald#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "gild",
      "gild#Norn"
    ],
    [
      "gjeld",
      "gjeld#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "gäld",
      "gäld#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "geld",
      "geld#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A product.",
        "Measurement of the amount of a crop harvested, or animal products such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land.",
        "The harvestable population growth of an ecosystem.",
        "The amount of product obtained in a chemical reaction."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "uncountable"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 260641
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To give as a result or outcome; to produce or render.",
        "To produce as return from an investment.",
        "To produce as a result.",
        "To produce a particular sound as the result of a sound law."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 260640
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 14,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 yield →

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
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