gelding

What it means

1. A castrated male horse.

   Mr. Free also owned restaurants and bred horses. His bay gelding, Packett's Landing, won almost $800,000 in his five-year career in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

   2003 January 8, Stuart Lavietes, “F. William Free, 74, Ad Man Behind 'Fly Me'”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2022

2. Any castrated male animal.

In a sentence

Mr. Free also owned restaurants and bred horses. His bay gelding, Packett's Landing, won almost $800,000 in his five-year career in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

2003 January 8, Stuart Lavietes, “F. William Free, 74, Ad Man Behind 'Fly Me'”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2022

Where it comes from

1. Old Norsegeldingr“wether, eunuch”
2. Middle Englishgeldyng“eunuch”
3. Englishgelding

From Middle English geldyng (“eunuch”), from Old Norse geldingr (“wether, eunuch”), from gelda (“to castrate”). By surface analysis, geld (“to castrate”) + -ing (diminutive suffix).