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gelt

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gelt¹

  • /ɡɛlt/ UK

Rhymes with -ɛlt

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Irish geilt.

noun gelts

  1. rare A lunatic. She […] like a ghastly Gelt whose wits are reaved, / Ran forth in hast with hideous outcry […]

gelt²

  • /ɡɛlt/ UK

Rhymes with -ɛlt

Where it comes from

Variation of gilt.

noun gelts

  1. obsolete Gilding; gilt.

gelt³

  • /ɡɛlt/ UK

Rhymes with -ɛlt

Where it comes from

See geld.

verb

  1. participle, past simple past and past participle of geld

noun gelts

  1. A gelding. spay'd Gelts

gelt⁴

  • /ɡɛlt/ UK

Rhymes with -ɛlt

Where it comes from

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.

noun gelts

  1. uncountable, usually Money. That nothynge had / There of theyr awne / Neyther gelt nor pawne.
  2. uncountable, usually Tribute; tax. All these the king granted unto them […] free from all gelts [guilds] and payments, in a most full and ample manner.
  3. Judaism, uncountable, usually Money, especially that given as a gift on Hanukkah or used in games of dreidel.
  4. Judaism, uncountable, usually Chocolate candy in the shape of coins, usually wrapped in metallic foil, usually eaten on Hanukkah and often used for games of dreidel.

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MLA

"gelt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gelt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gelt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gelt

Chicago

"gelt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gelt.

BibTeX
@misc{gelt_2026,
  title = {gelt},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gelt},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}