Etymology

gilt

G2I1L1T1

Today it means: Gold or other metal in a thin layer; gilding. Full definition →

Middle English gilt ← Old Norse gyltr
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gilt · noun, adjective, verb1

Past participle of gild (“to cover in gold”), thus meaning literally “(something) covered in gold”. Ultimately related to gold (which see). Compare feed, which is related (similarly by ablaut) to food. Cognate with Dutch (ver)guld, Icelandic gyllt and Faroese gylt.

gilt · noun2

  1. Old Norse · derived fromgyltr
  2. Middle English · inherited fromgilt
  3. English todaygilt

From Middle English gilt, gylt, from Old Norse gyltr; compare geld and yelt.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishgilt all →

guilt

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.