yauld

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰeldʰ-“to pay for, repay”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*gildiz“valuable, valid, wholesome, precious”
3. Old English · inherited fromġilde“valuable, of worth”
4. Middle English · inherited fromyeld
5. English todayyauld

From Middle English yeld, from Old English ġilde (“valuable, of worth”), from Proto-Germanic *gildiz (“valuable, valid, wholesome, precious”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay for, repay”). Cognate with Scots yauld (“active, strong, mighty”), Old Norse gildr (“of full worth, size, measure, or quality; full; complete; absolute; great”) (whence Icelandic gildur (“valid, thick, prominent, important”), Swedish gild (“stout, of full size”), Danish gild (“brawny, of full size, fine”). Related to yield.

Words from the same roots