geld

/ɡɛld/

//ɡɛld// noun

"geld" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“geld” is uncommon English (frequency #84,293 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,293
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Money.

Corpus desk

Index EN-geld · geld · English

geld · rank #84,293 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,293
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH genderqueer

Nearest frequency peer: genderqueer (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “geld”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “geld” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for geld
PropertyValue
Headwordgeld
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɛld/
Letters4
Frequency rank#84,293
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “geld” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).geldfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “genderqueer” (#84,294), “Geb” (#84,290), “Gbps” (#84,288). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “geld” is #84,293. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

geld is uncommon English at frequency #84,293 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɡɛld/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for geld in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield (“payment, tribute”), from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Proba… The correct English form is geld, spelled G-E-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Money.
  2. 2
    Money.

Etymology

From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield (“payment, tribute”), from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). Probably reinforced by gelt (which see), see Norwegian Bokmål gjeld (“debt”), Danish gæld (“debt”). Geld is also written gelt or gild, and as such found in wergild, Danegeld, etc. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian jild (“money”), Saterland Frisian Jield, Jäild (“money”), Dutch geld (“money”), German Geld (“money”), Old Norse gjald (“payment”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳 (gild, “tribute”). Also related to English yield.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "geld"?
"geld" is spelled G-E-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɛld/.
What does "geld" mean?
As a noun, "geld" means: Money.
How do you pronounce "geld"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "geld" is /ɡɛld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "geld"?
From Middle English geld and reinforced by Medieval Latin geldum, both from Old English geld, ġield (“payment, tribute”), from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pa... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "geld", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list